Rick Rescorla
Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 8:10AM A HERO OF THE FREE WORLD
Originally published in 2006, this is my account of but one man. I plan on posting this every September, on or near the 11th, in honor of Rick and all who perished that day. I will do this until I can do it no more.
Rick Rescorla was born in England. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1963 and retired as a colonel in 1990. Rick was a bonafide hero of the Vietnam war. In 1965, at the la Drang Valley battles, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore described him as “the best platoon leader I ever saw.” Rescorla’s men nicknamed him “Hard Core” for his bravery in battle. His heroism was documented and highlighted in the 2002 movie “We Were Soldiers” from the book “We Were Soldiers Once… and Young” co-written by Gen. Moore.
Since 1985, he worked in corporate security, subsequently becoming Vice President of Security for Morgan-Stanley/Dean-Witter, the largest tenant in the World Trade Center. After the 1993 attack, he trained all employees to evacuate the building. He maintained a structured, quarterly drill carried out byall staff to orderly get out. He is the man who predicted 9/11. Please see The Richard C. Rescorla Memorial Foundation.
On that fateful day, he safely evacuated all 2,800 Morgan-Stanley/Dean-Witter employees but himself and a few of his security staff. After doing his job, he returned to rescue others still inside. These were not even his people, yet, they were all his people. He was last seen heading up the stairs of the tenth floor of the collapsing WTC 2. His remains have not been recovered. He left a wife and two children. This man is widely recognized as being solely responsible for saving over 3,000 lives. Is it of any importance that he became an American citizen after Vietnam? He is a citizen of all mankind.
Rick Rescorla is but one hero who perished that fateful day, but what a man he was and what a soul he has that will and should live forever in the hearts and minds of everyone who cherishes freedom. All over the world.
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Dave Knechel | tagged 9/11, Flight 93, Pentagon, Rick Rescorla, September 11, WTC, World Trade Center | Share Article | 1 Reference 
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Reader Comments (7)
Mr. Rick Rescorla a honorable man, rememberd by Mr Dave Knechel a honorable man. Man on man is Honorable an very good to see heros still alive.
[Thank you, Eyeball. I do try to be honorable. Call me old-fashioned, but I still hold doors open for people behind me.]
An example of what one man can do. To all who were involved in rescue on ground zero, thank you.
Eyeball: I agree.
Blessings to you, Dave, for taking your time to honor this fine man.
And my prayers go out to Mr. Rescorla's family--who lost him much too soon. And to all who suffered, during and after, that terrible day.
"A hero of the free world," indeed!
[Thank you, nan11. It is an honor to honor a true hero.]
Thanks Dave. This was a great man.
[My pleasure, Joanna. Yes, he was a great man, indeed.]
Dave, thank you for sharing the bravery of Rick Rescorla. Interestingly, my son had recorded a documentary about Rescorla. When we moved and changed cable services, the recorded documentary went with the other box. So here I am at 3 a.m. spending time catching up with your blog, and you have written about Rescorla. Ever believe in things arranged by God? Oh, btw, I'm up at 3 a.m. because us retired old folks tend to nap during the evening and wake up after midnight. LOL!
[I know what you mean about napping, Xena. I wish the world had lots of Rick Rescorlas. All I know is that I had to write about him, and every year, I will put this post up in memory of him and what he stood for. I'm glad you found it, too. Could it have been arranged by God? Yes, anything is possible. I hope you found that other box.]
Dave, the other cable box was returned to the company. Since VHS is now of the dinosaur age and the cable services offer DVR, when movies are electronically stored that way, if anything happens to the box or you change services, you lose the recordings. Today, my son told me the name of the movie is "The Man Who Predicted 9/11." http://shop.history.com/man-who-predicted-911-dvd/detail.php?p=69245 They only had one DVD in stock, and I just ordered it.
Thank you again for reminding us of the heroic courage of Rick Rescorlas.
I'm just trying to catch up,as this is the first time I've been on the site and saw there are articles past Thursdays SYG. I'll have to watch out when I click on your site,that it brings up the current page.
This is an amazing artiicle on a true hero and I agree we need to be reminded that heros do exist.
Thank you so much Dave.