Posted on 03/05/2005 10:19:27 AM PST by Lexington Green
Rick Rescorla helped save thousands before losing his life at World Trade Center
In Susan Rescorla's eyes, the very traits that made her late husband a hero on 9/11 were forged on the battlefields of Vietnam almost 40 years ago.
"He was a soldier... and a warrior," she whispered, shortly after an Al Reid portrait of Rick Rescorla, an Officer Candidate School Hall of Famer who led more than 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees to safety after terrorists crashed a plane into the World Trade Center, was unveiled Thursday at the National Infantry Museum. "He made one last sweep, as he'd learned at Ia Drang, and was determined not to leave a single soldier behind."
Six Morgan Stanley security men died that day, including their chief, Rescorla.
"But if he hadn't done his job the way he did," said journalist and author Joe Galloway, "the death toll at the Trade Center would probably be twice what it is today."
Galloway, who was in town earlier this week, met Rescorla at the 1965 battle at Ia Drang. It is Rescorla, carrying a rifle with a fixed bayonet, who is pictured on the cover of Galloway's best-selling Vietnam War book, "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young."
That picture inspired Reid, a staff artist at the museum, when he was given the task of painting the portrait. "It was really a work of love," he said at the unveiling, shortly after receiving a bear hug from Susan Rescorla. "I've been working on it for a couple of months and we plan to put it on the first floor in our Global War on Terrorism exhibit."
Susan also presented the museum with a case full of Rescorla's many military medals, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
"About six months ago," Susan Rescorla said, "I decided that Rick's medals should be put someplace where people could see them and hear his story. And what better place than here? I always am trying to raise enough money to build a bronze statue of Rick. That, too, would go here and be moved to the new infantry museum when it is finished."
Always motivated
Because Rescorla was born in England and served in the British Army before immigrating to the United States and enlisting in the Army here, the British Broadcasting Co. sent a reporter to cover Thursday's event.
After Vietnam, where he served with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, Rescorla became a U.S. citizen.
"Rick was proud to call himself an American," Susan Rescorla said. "And I'm proud that he was, too."
One of Rescorla's oldest friends, Texan Fred McBee, said the unveiling was "one occasion I would not have missed. Rick and I were in the same writing program at the University of Oklahoma after the war. He could have been a great writer. He was good at whatever he did."
Susan Rescorla said the pain of losing her husband will never go away. But she's doing everything possible to keep his memory alive.
"I make speeches, both here and in England," she said. "I visit injured troops at Walter Reed, many of them injured in Vietnam. I've never really associated that much with the other victims of 9/11. But I have seen the pain in their eyes."
She often gives Walter Reed patients a copy of "Heart of a Soldier," a book written about Rescorla by James Stewart. And she'll give folks who donate $25 or more for the Rescorla statue a copy of the book.
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Ooop's, make that Article title:
Fatima Visionary Dies at 97
http://www.Newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/2/13/193343.shtml
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Love Bump!
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The Mudville Gazette praises Lifetime Lifesaving Hero RICK RESCORLA (Great Read)
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000307.html
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Six Morgan Stanley security men died that day, including their chief, Rescorla.
"But if he hadn't done his job the way he did," said journalist and author Joe Galloway, "the death toll at the Trade Center would probably be twice what it is today."
bump!
Thanks for the ping!
Rick Rescorla bump!
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NEVER FORGET
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Help honor 911 Lifesaving Hero RICK RESCORLA-Ft. Benning GA Sculpture
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1365968/posts
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The Man Who Predicted 9/11: RICK RESCORLA, ..R.I.P.
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361
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NEVER FORGET
911's...
Lifesaver RICK RESCORLA's statue joyfully unveiled - Ft. Benning GA
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1608896/posts
NEVER FORGET
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In Susan Rescorla's eyes, the very traits that made her late husband a hero on 9/11 were forged on the battlefields of Vietnam almost 40 years ago.
"He was a soldier... and a warrior," she whispered, shortly after an Al Reid portrait of Rick Rescorla, an Officer Candidate School Hall of Famer who led more than 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees to safety after terrorists crashed a plane into the World Trade Center, was unveiled Thursday at the National Infantry Museum. "He made one last sweep, as he'd learned at Ia Drang, and was determined not to leave a single soldier behind."
bttt
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping!
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NEVER FORGET
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In the Spirit of this year’s Easter Season GOOD Friday...
...MARTY INGELS & wife SHIRLEY JONES lovingly share their FAWN Park 9/11 Memorial:
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NEVER FORGET
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Never forget,
michael w smith - ( Draw me close )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWG9-PJFcK8&mode=related&search=
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NEVER FORGET
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RICK RESCORLA: Help Honor 911 Lifesaving Hero
http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361
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NEVER FORGET
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