On Sept. 11, 2001, Frank J. Larkin was a supervisor in the Secret Service’s New York Field Office, located in the World Trade Center. The Senate sergeant-at-arms was later awarded a Medal of Valor for his life-saving actions at Ground Zero.

“When the first tower collapsed, I was actually moving to the center square between the towers,” Larkin told CQ Roll Call during a recent interview in his office on the first floor of the Capitol. “I was leading a group of folks with the intention of getting some folks that had been injured out of that center plaza area. At the same time, we were dodging, unfortunately, folks who were jumping to their deaths, you know, witnessing that, which is something you just never forget.”

Larkin was initially reported missing, and suffered severe respiratory injuries, coughing up blood during the three months he spent leading recovery efforts before being transferred back to Washington.