# Donald Sadowy oral history interview conducted by Ashlee McGlone, October 24, 2014, November 7, 2014

On 9/11 Donald was retired from the NYPD bomb squad and worked as a security supervisor for Merrill Lynch. Donald worked on the first WTC bombing in 1993. He led the FBI to the person responsible for bringing the bomb into the building in the van. Donald joined with Port Authority officers, NYPD, engineers, elevator mechanics, and the FDNY to respond to the WTC disaster. Donald helped evacuate the buildings. His nostrils and lungs were burning from the fumes, and he was having trouble breathing. Donald watched Father Mychal Judge say the rosary as the "jumpers" landed to their death. He saw some of the FDNY crew for the last time as they ran up to try to save those who were perishing on the top floors. When he heard the "metal screaming" of the building frame and beams twisting, he knew the area was not safe. As he made his way to the West Side Highway, a wave of debris and dust started coming toward him, roaring like a freight train. The massive cloud swallowed everything in its path and he dived under a fire truck. He thought he was blind because everything was black. Donald's ribs and hip were injured. Then the second building collapsed. Donald became unconscious. A fellow worker helped him get shelter. Donald sought medical treatment, but returned to work even though he was injured. He got around in a golf cart and used a cane. For several months, Donald worked six days a week, twelve hours a day. He just felt that he had to be there. He's had six surgeries, some…

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 2014
- Runtime: 4 h 16 min
- By: Sadowy, Donald
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2015048_274/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/afc2015048_274?play=1)