Gary Miller, a Hughes High School graduate, recently returned from orchestrating the American Red Cross' biggest, costliest disaster relief effort ever.

        While in New York, he barely could process a thought because there were so many urgent matters at hand. Each day, he managed almost 3,000 volunteers, who were responsible for feeding, sheltering and assisting the city devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

        He also worried about security, met with dignitaries and saw first hand the people who wandered through the Red Cross' family assistance center because they were missing a friend, relative or colleague.

        “I was the orchestra leader. I was the guy who led the band. I'm very proud of the organization. They allowed me to do whatever I needed to get the job done,” he said. “This is much different than anything we've seen because of the number of bodies.”

        Mr. Miller returned last week from his “40 days and 40 nights” in New York. He is one of seven people nationwide trained to handle such a relief effort. He was called to duty hours after the attack and arrived in New York the next day.

        Working amid the devastation — the eight-story rubble pile and the emotional and psychological wreckage left in its wake — was the most difficult job he's ever done.

        “This was the largest single disaster relief that Red Cross has ever had. This thing hit everyone. Most of the time nobody knows (that I left). They ask, "where have I been?' This thing hit everyone,” said Mr. Miller, who was part of the $58 million Red Cross relief operation in Puerto Rico and the 1997 floods here. Someone replaced Mr. Miller so that he could return home after working in such traumatized environs. American Red Cross expects to spend $150 million in emergency relief, Mr. Miller said.

        Volunteers are expected to remain at Ground Zero through December and will continue helping those directly touched by the tragedy for the next decade.

        Several thousand people who worked at the World Trade Center were earning minimum wage. Some were illegal aliens; others lost their family's main bread winner in the wreckage. Some of these widows never knew where their spouse did his or her banking, Mr. Miller said.

        Help, he said, could come in many forms including financial advice. Years of mental health counseling also are expected.

        “There will be a lot of long-time needs that will develop over time,” he said.

        Mr. Miller reports to work Monday as the local Red Cross chapter's disaster services director. Since his return, he has been spending time with his family and walking his dog, Ellie.

        He will not reveal his age but said that he became a Red Cross volunteer as a high school student. He later taught first aid for the agency and returned to its fold in 1973 after serving as Bethesda Hospital's manager of special diagnostics medicine.

        Mr. Miller is happy to be back in Cincinnati. He commended New York's police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians for their ability to work together.

        But, “they're still not as close as we are here. Besides colleagues, we're also friends,” he said.

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