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Rick Rescorla: The hero Bush forgot
San Diego Daily Transcript ^ | 1/19/09 | Michael Giorgino

Posted on 01/19/2009 8:15:35 PM PST by mgiorgino

While bidding the nation farewell, President Bush remembered 9/11: "As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11, but I never did."

Yet Bush has apparently forgotten the greatest hero of that fateful day -- Rick Rescorla, who gave his life while saving more than 2,700 people in the World Trade Center.

Rick Rescorla was on duty on the 44th floor of the World Trade Center, Tower Two. He was vice president for corporate security at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. and a jumbo jet had just plowed into the north tower.

The Port Authority (owner of the building) told him not to evacuate and to order his people to stay at their desks. Rescola told the Port Authority, "Piss off. Everything above where that plane hit is going to collapse and it's going to take the whole building with it. I'm getting my people out of here!"

Rick Rescorla was born in Cornwall, England in 1939. After service in the British armed forces, he earned a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army. Rescorla was then sent to Vietnam with the Seventh Cavalry Regiment (Airmobile). He fought in the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, described in the book, "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young," and is the gritty soldier pictured on the book's cover. Co-author Lt. Gen. Harold Moore described him as "the best platoon leader I ever saw." Rescorla's men nicknamed him "Hard Core" for his extraordinary courage in battle.

In 1992, Rescorla warned the Port Authority about the possibility of a truck bomb attack in the unguarded basement of the World Trade Center. He was ignored. When Islamic terrorists used this method in the 1993 attack, Rescorla was instrumental in evacuating the building and was the last man out.

Rescorla then predicted the terrorists would return to finish the job with aircraft. He recommended that Morgan Stanley move to a safer location in New Jersey, but its lease in Manhattan did not end until 2006.

At Rescorla's insistence, all employees, including senior executives, began practicing full-blown, no-notice emergency evacuations every three months. There was much grousing and complaining by high-powered stock brokers about being yanked away from their phones and being made to hike down 40 or 50 stories. But it all paid off on 9/11.

At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 struck Tower One. Rescorla had most of Morgan Stanley's 2,700 employees and hundreds of visitors safely out of the building by the time United Airlines Flight 175 hit Tower Two at 9:02 a.m.

Rescorla reminded everyone to "be proud to be an American. Everyone will be talking about you tomorrow." He sang "God Bless America" and military songs over his bullhorn to keep the evacuees calm, including his version of the song from the movie "Zulu":

"Men of Cornwall stand ye steady; It cannot be ever said ye for the battle were not ready; Stand and never yield!"

A Morgan Stanley director told Rescorla he had to get out, too. "As soon as I make sure everyone else is out," Rescorla replied. In a last cell call to his wife Susan, he said, "Stop crying, I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I've never been happier. You made my life." Rick Rescorla was last seen heading up to rescue people who were unable to get down. His remains have never been recovered.

The amazing story of Rick Rescorla is well documented in "Heart of a Soldier" by James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster, 2002). Tens of thousands of Americans have petitioned President Bush to award Rescorla the Medal of Freedom. Even after the urging of former-Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom, Bush has done nothing.

Rick Rescorla died for America. He defied our enemies and said, in effect, "It's not right that 2,700 people should die -- I won't let you kill them!" Absent presidential action, Congress should restore Rescorla -- a retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel -- to active duty status and posthumously award him the Medal of Honor.

---------------------------------------------------------

Mike Giorgino is a retired Navy Surface Warfare Commander and a Gulf War veteran. He currently practices law in San Diego. He may be contacted at mgiorgino@aol.com


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 911; bush; medalofhonor; rescorla
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1 posted on 01/19/2009 8:15:37 PM PST by mgiorgino
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To: mgiorgino

Thank you for telling the story of the best kind of man. I hope we keep his memory alive.


2 posted on 01/19/2009 8:17:47 PM PST by Marie2 (Hunkered down until something better comes along)
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To: mgiorgino

God Bless this man and his family.


3 posted on 01/19/2009 8:22:32 PM PST by Former MSM Viewer ("We will hunt the terrorists in every dark corner of the earth. We will be relentless." W 2001)
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To: Marie2; ALOHA RONNIE; unkus; No Surrender No Retreat; SkyPilot; SouthTexas; 2ndDivisionVet

An American Patriot that now walks with God.


4 posted on 01/19/2009 8:32:02 PM PST by ExTexasRedhead
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To: ALOHA RONNIE

Rick Rescorla bump


5 posted on 01/19/2009 8:32:35 PM PST by NonValueAdded (Confidential to MSM: "Better Red than Read" is a failed business model.)
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To: mgiorgino
I thought the man sounded familiar. He was featured on the History Channel in a documentary called "THE MAN WHO PREDICTED 9/11"

His wife has a web site devoted to him.

6 posted on 01/19/2009 8:32:54 PM PST by Nateman (If liberals aren't screaming you're doing it wrong.)
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To: Former MSM Viewer

A geal American hero. God bless him.


7 posted on 01/19/2009 8:35:17 PM PST by unkus
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To: mgiorgino

How does it glorify Rick Rescorla by dragging President Bush into the story?


8 posted on 01/19/2009 8:37:19 PM PST by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: mgiorgino; ALOHA RONNIE
Full honors for Rick Rescorla. Nothing less.
9 posted on 01/19/2009 8:39:24 PM PST by BIGLOOK (Keelhaul Congress! It's the sensible solution to restore Command to the People.)
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To: ExTexasRedhead

Prayers and thank you.


10 posted on 01/19/2009 8:39:38 PM PST by SouthTexas
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To: mgiorgino

I’ve long wondered why this man was not honored the way he should be.


11 posted on 01/19/2009 8:45:53 PM PST by Psycho_Bunny (ALSO SPRACH ZEROTHUSTRA)
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To: Psycho_Bunny

President Bush waited until the last minutes to pardon Border Agents Ramos and Compion. I’m not surprised that he completely forgot about (or ignored) Rick Rescorla...


12 posted on 01/19/2009 8:51:46 PM PST by Friend_from_the_Frozen_North (If you are, as Rush would say, "A Glittering Jewel of Colossal Ignorance" don't waste my time...)
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To: Drango

Because W didn’t do what he should have done.


13 posted on 01/19/2009 8:53:04 PM PST by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)
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To: mgiorgino

I’m emailing this story to my grandkids.


14 posted on 01/19/2009 9:05:19 PM PST by HighlyOpinionated ("...there are two things in Washington that are unbalanced—the budget and the liberals." R Reagan)
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To: mgiorgino
The amazing story of Rick Rescorla is well documented in "Heart of a Soldier" by James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster, 2002).

I remember all the publicity about Bush reading A History of Salt but I don't recall ever hearing that he read this book. Doubtful that Bush ever heard of Rescorla.

15 posted on 01/19/2009 9:09:50 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: mgiorgino
Rescorla was a private citizen doing a hero's job, in spite of government stupidity and in the face of the "don't rock the boat" crowd.

Bush and his fellow mediocrities hate such people.

16 posted on 01/19/2009 9:33:16 PM PST by ikka (Brother, you asked for it!)
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To: ikka

No I don’t think so.


17 posted on 01/19/2009 10:01:51 PM PST by Witter
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To: Nateman; mgiorgino; MAK1179; briansb
His wife has a web site devoted to him.

I send that link to his story out every year on or around 9/11.

Sent to close friends, my four sons and people I work with and I remind them to read at least one of the stories.  I'm not a sentimental type, more a jerk if you ask most moderators here at Free Republic, but the first time I came across that website, I stayed up until 4 AM reading every word of every story and found myself crying more than once, part with sadness of losing such a man and part with the pride of knowing men are capable of being such as Rick Rescorla was.

 

18 posted on 01/19/2009 10:16:41 PM PST by Lloyd227 (Class of 1998 (let's all help the Team McCain spider monkeys decide how to moderate))
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To: All; mgiorgino; Lloyd227; LeoWindhorse; Marie2; Former MSM Viewer; NonValueAdded; ExTexasRedhead; ..

.

NEVER FORGET

.

US Airways Pilot Lifesaver SULLY’s leading over 150 people to safety on waterbourne AirBus Jetliner wings, just West of New York’s Battery Park on January 16th, 2009 =

World Trade Center Security Chief Lifesaver RESCORLA’s leading 1,000’s of people down Tower II stairwells to safety, just East of New York’s Battery Park on September 11th, 2001

Sterling Presidential Medal of Freedom Award Material, ...personified all in GOD’s Plan..?

RICK RESCORLA: Help honor 911 Lifesaving Hero

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361

.

NEVER FORGET

.


19 posted on 01/20/2009 12:57:23 AM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com11)
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To: All; mgiorgino

.

NEVER FORGET

.

Where Lifetime Lifesaver RICK RESCORLA walked in Vietnam, exactly:

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm
(See 1st Photo-7th Cavalry Regiment’s Vietnam Home Base)

.

NEVER FORGET

.


20 posted on 01/20/2009 1:01:08 AM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com11)
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