‘The bravest man I ever knew’

Army Times ^ | Sean D. Naylor

[Gamecock]

After a lifetime in which he cheated it many times, death caught up with Rick Rescorla halfway up the south tower of the World Trade Center.

But like a good soldier, he didn’t sell his life cheaply. Death took him only after he had cheated it again, helping to save 2,700 lives by relying on the instincts and the preparation that had served him well in battles on two continents.

[Gamecock]

What a STUD! May God comfort his soul....

[Alberta's Child]

When the first plane hit the north tower, the Port Authority told workers in the south tower to stay put. But Rescorla disagreed and immediately executed an evacuation plan he had made the employees rehearse twice a year.

It sometimes pays to go with your instincts. God bless this man.

[FelixZolliecoffer]

Gary Owen!

[Canadian Outrage]

God Bless him for sure but what an terrible waste of a good and productive life. I'm so sorry he went back in again. Just so sorry. Lynn

[Lexington Green]

There was a Wild Colonial Boy
Rescorla was his name
He was born and raised in Hayle, Cornwall
Just east of ol' Land's End

He joined the British Army when
A lad of just 16
Became a brave, young soldier then
As good as ever seen

He joined the U.S. Cavalry
To fight in Viet Nam
And he killed the Cong at the Ia Drang
With bayonet and gun

He saved three thousand people when
The terrorists struck home
But lost his life when he went back
To rescue seven more

So lift a cup to our dear friend
Remember him with joy
How dearly do his brethren love
That Wild Colonial Boy

[Gamecock]

Let Bacchus' sons be not dismayed
But join with me, each jovial blade
Come, drink and sing and lend your aid
To help me with the chorus:

Chorus
Instead of spa, we'll drink brown ale
And pay the reckoning on the nail;
No man for debt shall go to jail
From Garryowen in glory.

We'll beat the bailiffs out of fun,
We'll make the mayor and sheriffs run
We are the boys no man dares dun
If he regards a whole skin.

Chorus

Our hearts so stout have got no fame
For soon 'tis known from whence we came
Where'er we go they fear the name
Of Garryowen in glory.

Chorus

[FelixZolliecoffer]

Thanks....I am an old guy from the 2/2nd ACR....Thank You for the post...Garryowen!

[steamroller]

He will be sadly missed-a REAL AMERICAN born in Britain.The book was real good-what a change from the garbage the leftists wrote about those of us who served in the Nam.

[Fiddlstix]

Click here

[razorback-bert]

To Asgard, the Valkries fly this warrior.

Duty, Honor, Country, this man lived it.

[OldFriend]

And I am outraged by your comment.

[COB1]

I agree, bert.
I salute him.
May God bless and keep him.

[sneakypete]

When Hollywood did their tv fund raiser thing,it was Robin Williams who read the tribute to Rick,but he clearly didn't know who he was. I was wondering what Williams would have thought if he had known this man was one of the people he hated and called names in the 60's. I can only hope somebody told him,and he has now had a little time to reflect on his past behavior.

[apackof2]

bump for another 9-11-01 hero

[Libertina]

Port Authority told workers in the south tower to stay put ??? Unbelievable
Thank heaven for Rick's intelligence and his bravery. God Bless him and his family.

[Critter]

Thought you'd be interested in this, for sure.

[Critter]

"As Morgan Stanley’s security chief, Rescorla brought his belief in the “seven Ps” — proper prior planning and preparation prevents poor performance — to bear, to the immense good fortune of his co-workers. "

I don't think that is quite how it goes.

Proper prior planning prevents p!$$ poor performance, seems to be the way I remember hearing it. lol

What a great man. It is so sad that we had to lose him.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

GARRY OWEN (U.S. 7th Cavalry Salute)

...See the IA DRANG-1965 Photo of American Hero Lt. ~RICK RESCORLA~ that graces the Book Cover of..

'WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE and YOUNG'

..-&-..

...the new Movie Poster of..

'WE WERE SOLDIERS'..starring MEL GIBSON as Lt. Col. HAL G. MOORE..

...on our U.S. 7th Cavalry IA DRANG-1965 website.. www.lzxray.com ...

...as GOD smiles down on ~RICK RESCORLA's~ life ...BROADLY.

Signed:..Vet/Battle of IA DRANG-1965 www.lzxray.com

GARRY OWEN (U.S. 7th Cavalry Salute)

[Squantos]

God Bless you Rick. Your actions and professionalism saved uncounted lives. Thank You............

[ladyinred]

Wonderful story. We will learn more and more of the personal stories of the victims as time goes on. It appears we have a nation of heroes that we had no idea we had.

[primeval patriot]

Morgan Stanley hired a hell of a man.

[timydnuc]

There are men just like this that work right next to you and you don't know it. You are in good hands, we will always defend, and we will always sacrifice. We've been trained to do that.

Rick, I'll meet you on the other side, and I'm buyin'!

[kayak]

As horrendous as the atrocities of 9/11 were, there is good coming from that fateful day. One is that people are realizing that it is men like Rick who are heroes to be emulated rather than athletes or tv and movie stars.

Prayers for the family of this heroic man!

[Snow Bunny]

God bless him his life touched so many lives and we will never forget men like this nor their lives.

Thank you so much ALOHA RONNIE for the ping and your post too. Thank you for serving this country .

[Snow Bunny]

Thank you for this thread.

[Alberta's Child]

God Bless him for sure but what an terrible waste of a good and productive life. I'm so sorry he went back in again. Just so sorry. Lynn

Actually, it sounds as if he packed a lot of heroism into that "good and productive life," so I would hardly call it a waste. Imagine if he had valued his life over those of his fellow workers.

Do you remember that riveting dialogue from "Field of Dreams?"

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), trying to convince the elderly Dr. Graham that he (Graham) was supposed to travel back to Iowa with Kinsella to live out his baseball dreams: "But Dr. Graham, you came so close to being a real big league ballplayer, and you got sent down to the minors after playing in the outfield for one inning. You were a major leaguer for five minutes, and that is a tragedy."

Archie (Doc) Graham (Burt Lancaster): "Son, imagine if I had been a doctor for five minutes. Now THAT would be a tragedy."

[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks. I've read at least one other story about this amazing man.

[Gamecock]

Lt. Rick Rescorla, Platoon Leader, B Co 2/7 Cav
in Bayonet Attack on the morning of 16 Nov 1965.
Photo by Peter Arnett

"A great battle shot.
No sleep for 48 hours.
Grimy, unshaven, filthy uniform.
Canteens loose, dogtags hanging out, pocket unbuttoned, helmet strap hanging.
No insignia of rank, sleeves up.
Dirty fingernails.
His bayonet is fixed; trigger finger alert and ready for action."

Morgan Stanley security chief feared dead
By Emilie Lounsberry
WASHINGTON BUREAU

NEW YORK (Updated 2:34 a.m.) - As security head at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Rick Rescorla knew the drill: He had ferried employees out when terrorism first struck the World Trade Center in 1993, and he was there with his bullhorn Tuesday, trying once again to get his people out.

Nearly all of them did. Rescorla did not.

He's one of the 15 Morgan Stanley employees still missing. And those who know him say that Rescorla, who was in his 44th-floor office in the trade tower struck by the second plane, may well be the reason the vast majority of the 3,700 Morgan Stanley employees got out alive.

"Rick was down toward the base trying to make sure people got down and out," said Bob Sloss, a managing director at Morgan Stanley who last saw Rescorla around the 10th floor in the stairwell. "He was definitely there well after it had been established that the building was in trouble."

Typical Rescorla, said those who know him from his days as a lieutenant and platoon leader in Vietnam, where he would sing to his men at tense times and instill in them the courage to get back up for one more round of battle.

"He couldn't be any other way," recalled Sam Fantino, who was Rescorla's radio operator in Vietnam and has been flooded with e-mails from their military colleagues bemoaning the possible loss of Rescorla, 62, in the World Trade Center tragedy.

Morgan Stanley employees remembered stories of how Rescorla had bounded into action during the 1993 bombing at the trade towers. Fantino said Rescorla took a rather unconventional approach to regaining control of the panic-stricken crowd as he tried to clear the building that day.

"To get their attention, he dropped his pants," recalled Fantino. Rescorla, with his commanding demeanor and booming voice, was just the type you want in charge, whether it was on Tuesday or during the 1993 attack, Fantino said.

"He was literally the last person to leave that building," another Army friend, Joe Galloway, recalled of the 1993 bombing. "He stayed until he had gotten everyone out, and that is the nature of the man."

Born in Hayle, Cornwall, in England in 1939, Rescorla served as a mercenary for British Army forces in Zimbabwe, and then became a police officer in Rhodesia before coming to the United States in the early 1960s and joining the Army.

He was a platoon leader in Vietnam, where Fantino and others said Rescorla was an inspiration to his troops. He could make them laugh with a joke or a song, and somehow inspire them to get up and "kick some butt" in battle.

He put himself through college at Oklahoma University on the G.I. bill, and went on to get a master's degree and a law degree. Rescorla, who retired as a colonel in the Army Reserve in 1989, had worked in security management for many years, including the past 18 working for Morgan Stanley, where he started out as director of security and moved up to first vice president for security.

Spread between the 43rd and 66th floors, Morgan Stanley offices were buzzing with activity Tuesday when the first plane struck the neighboring tower at about 8:48 a.m.

A plane hit the second building about 9:10 a.m.

Rescorla was in his office when the disaster hit.

His wife, Susan, said she called when she heard the news and was told, "Don't worry about anything, Rick is getting the people out."

Rescorla called about 10 minutes later. His next words struck terror in her heart: "If anything happens to me," he just wanted her to know that "you made my life."

She said she's heard that her husband was going from floor to floor, making sure people were out, and had been spotted around the 72nd floor at one point. Since then, she's been praying constantly for some shred of evidence that he might somehow be alive, caught in the rubble.

Sloss, who was in his office on the 66th floor when the plane hit, said he remembers seeing Rescorla somewhere around the 10th floor, shuttling people along the way, telling them to get off their cell phones and proceed carefully but quickly.

"Rick was down there absolutely perspiring," said Sloss. "He had his bullhorn. He was encouraging people to calm down."

"If anybody could get (people) out or do anything," his wife said, "it was my Rick."

[ALOHA RONNIE]

GARRY OWEN ...see Post #29 ...A Post for a Real Hero...

[Fred Mertz]

What an impressive hero! Thanks for the flag, Ronnie.

[M Kehoe]

Thanks for the flag.

It is always good to read about a hero.

5.56mm

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Thank you for this post.. And Rick thank you. May God bless you and your family forever. I will tell this story to my son when he is old enough to understand. Bookmarking for 10 years.

[gridlock]

Where do we find such men? Were will we find the many more, who will be needed soon.

[LadyJD]

Adieu brave Captain. You honor the Pantheon of Heroes now.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...For More on Heroic ~RICH RESCORLA~ & Others at the Battle of IA DRANG-1965...

...please hit the -ALOHA RONNIE- on this Post for my Bookmarked List of Freerepublic Articles where you can access Titles:

Morgan Stanley workers recall heroic colleague

'WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE...& YOUNG'...4 FREEDOM

"We Were Soldiers" IA DRANG Battle in Viet Nam, Threads I & II

Death in the IA DRANG Valley

MEL GIBSON's Next Movie (A Winner!!)

MEL GIBSON 'dragging' after Army rigors

[dead]

BUMP!

[Republic]

Wow Ronnie! What a GREAT STORY! The stuff or GENUINE HEROS! Thanks for the ping!

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...GARRY OWEN ..Please see Post # 19, 29 , 36...

[ALOHA RONNIE]

GARRY OWEN (U.S. 7th Cavalry Salute)

...For More on the IA DRANG-1965 Movie that American Hero ~RICK RESCORLA~ will now never see ...but will instead be dedicated to his Lifetime of Heroism I'm sure ...go to the -Message Board- of..

.. www.WeWereSoldiersFILM.org ..

...See the 'Movie' Section 'Resocrla' Threads & 'Off Topic' Discussion Thread titled:

'September 11, 2001 - Another Day That Will Live In Infamy'

GARRY OWEN (U.S. 7th Cavalry Salute)

[JMJ333]

bttt :)

[Canadian Outrage]

Yes I agree with you Aberta's child. I guess my comment came across in a wrong way. I realize there is no greater love than the love shown by a man who lays down his own life for his friends. I definitely didn't mean his life was a waste I meant that it was a shame he lost his life. But he was doing what was important to him and to others. God Bless him as I said.

[Alberta's Child]

"Then he looked me in the eye and said, 'When the sun comes up we are going to kick some ass.' I will never forget his words or the look in his eye. He said it in a confident, matter-of-fact way. He was not boasting, it was resolve."

Sounds to me like Rescorla had a bit of Captain Kilgore (Apocalypse Now) in him.

[Gamecock]

Hey, I understood your first post. He was doing what had to be done. You are right, it is a waste, 6000 times over.

[JMJ333]

You guys that fought in the Ia Drang Valley have a character that sets you apart from the rest. God Bless you guys. *Never Forget* bump.

[goldilucky]

Good evening, Aloha Ronnie

A Garry Owen (U.S. 7th Cavalry Salute)to you! I had some trouble trying to access the site but will try again later.

: )

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...Ooop's ..Try..

.. www.WeWereSoldiersFILM.com .. instead of .org

[Un-PC]

I'm currently reading Lt. Gen. Harold "Hal" Moore's book, and the name "Rescorla" immediately registered with me. What a shame that he should lose his life after so many near-death experiences in Vietnam. He was indeed a very brave man.

I highly recommend Moore's book, "We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young."

[1rudeboy]

Viet Nam, Rhodesia, Cyprus. I suspect that when death came to this man, he grinned.

[Washington at Morristown]

‘When the sun comes up we are going to kick some ass.’

This should be the mantra for the U.S. in it's hunt for the terrorists...as well as a FReeper mantra against 'peaceniks'.
Rest in Peace Rick