SHARONVILLE — Tim Schmidt came home from New York City with a broken elbow and some indelible memories of both tragedy and humanitarianism.

        He had volunteered for the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (D-MORT). On Sept. 11, he received the call to go to New York to help identify victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

        Mr. Schmidt, a Sharonville resident, is a retired funeral director with Schmidt-Dhonau Funeral Homes in Reading and Sharonville. He is part of a 38-member Great Lakes Region team with 14 Ohio members. His colleagues include funeral directors, pathologists, X-ray technicians, coroners, computer experts and heavy-equipment operators.

        He finds it difficult to describe the work, preferring to concentrate on the positive side of humanity that he encountered.

        “We worked from the medical examiner's office, identifying the DNA remains of victims. Obviously, it wasn't pleasant work, but it does bring closure to families to know that their loved one has been found,” he reflected in a recent interview. “Paradoxically, it was one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had. The people of New York City banded together in an absolutely unbelievable way.

        “We met many police officers, rescue workers and residents, and their dedication was amazing,” said Mr. Schmidt, who returned home after breaking his elbow in a fall 12 days into his deployment.

Olympic flame shines through rain
Where the torch will go today
City may privatize services
County could restore some budget cuts
Flash flooding fatal
Webster elected to lead FOP
Wrong time to adopt pet
PULFER: Terrorism shows up at home
Recreation Notes
Volunteer returns from NYC
Waagner's wife describes fugitive life
Good News: Bank gifts helped recipients
Harmony Community School loses occupancy bid
Local Digest
Man dies after police stun him
Marijuana truckload confiscated
No death sentence for Hancock
Ex-Lebanon city attorney exonerated
Butler commissioners bump up sales tax
Tighter budgets might put Fairfield schools back in black
West Chester set to buy building
Bishop leaves major legacy for successor
Children send New York handcrafted sympathy
Daughter: Attorney took advantage of my dad's will
Ky. cuts funding for higher education
Aging power grid may spell trouble, Ky. officials warn
Congrats
Hispanic workers trying to go home
Infant mortality drops to lowest level
Kentucky Education Notes
Transplant patient honors donor