Ronald King oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, August 18, 2010

About

Ronald is an immigrant from Guyana who came to the United States as a young man. He was a construction supervisor at the time of the attack. He feels a great sense of gratitude toward the United States. His father died when Ronald was eight years old, and the only food his family had was from the United States. He clearly remembers seeing the bags of cornmeal and milk marked "USA-Not to be Sold." Without this food, his family would have starved. On 9/11, Ronald went home and watched the events on TV. At midnight, he could not stay home any longer and went to the site to see what he could do to help. He felt he had to be there. He stood at Chelsea Piers and a police officer told him that they needed oxygen and acetylene. Ronald called the owner of his company who said it would be no problem to donate those items. Ronald had to get a temporary pass to enter Ground Zero with the supplies. He then began working in the bucket brigade on the pile. He was given a bucket, a hook, gloves, and a paper mask. What he saw was "horrific." He could not put it into words. His stomach was in knots, and he felt anger and uncertainty. He could not comprehend how another human being could perpetrate such horror. Ronald worked at Ground Zero until December when his pass expired. After that, he was told he could not continue working as a volunteer, but had to enter as a paid worker. He did not want to accept cash because he was doing this work for himself. The experience had a big impact on…

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Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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