While most of America sat stunned, eyes glued to a television on Sept. 11, rescue workers at Ground Zero in New York City worked around the clock in the national spotlight – and what rescuer Michael Barker saw there, he will never forget.

Barker, an Urban Search and Rescue worker who spent 10 days in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, described the horror to his peers at the American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Conference in the Scheman Building Monday.

Barker, associate professor of civil engineering at University of Missouri-Columbia, spoke about the need for communication, feeling a sense of accomplishment and trying to attain a sense of normalcy despite the sunken emotions and absolute chaos that surrounded the events of Sept. 11.

He is one of 62 members of the Missouri Task Force One Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue team. There are 28 FEMA task force teams around the country designed to respond when local authorities are overwhelmed, he said.

The Missouri task force was split into two groups that worked 12 hour shifts with the New York Fire and Police Departments. Barker worked the night shift and would call his wife, Susan, when he returned from work in the morning.

“It was important for him to feel connected with home and what was going on with the kids, friends and church,” Susan Barker said. “I figured there would be plenty of time when he got home to talk about the events and what was going on, so my focus, as well as his, was on normal conversation and trying to attain a sense of normalcy.”

Michael Barker arrived in New Jersey the evening of Sept. 11 and was shipped on a Coast Guard boat to a harbor in New York City the next morning. When he stepped onto the harbor, he saw ash-covered invoices, computer paper, thank-you notes and time sheets spread everywhere – even though he was blocks away from the World Trade Center.

“It was [an] absolute disaster, and we did what we could,” he said. “Our hearts literally sunk. We were put into a situation nobody can ever imagine, but there was no stopping the rescue efforts.”

Barker showed before-and-after slides of the disaster area as he spoke. The FEMA team met steel beams and collapsed buildings in the disaster area when they arrived.

“We had an objective and met the objective,” he said. “Fortunately, the people where we looked got out, because we didn’t find anyone. It could have been so much worse, but miraculously, the towers stayed up as long as they did and over 2/3s of the people got out.”

Various government officials and celebrities supported the rescuers’ efforts. The entire New York Yankees baseball team came to show its support and appreciation. Barker even has a picture shaking hands with President George W. Bush.

“He was willing to talk to you and listen to you for however long you needed to,” Barker said.

Barker said people need to remember the rescue efforts are continuing and will be for months or even years.

“Some [New Yorkers] saw the airplanes hit and the towers and other buildings fall and have been stuck there since,” he said. “They can’t escape it, and we need to keep the people of New York in our thoughts and prayers.”