FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Rick Rescorla ~ January 18, 2010

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC with Aloha Ronnie

[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Info and some photos from WeWereSoldiers.net.

           

During combat in Vietnam, Lt. Rick Rescorla would sing to his troops to keep their spirits high while under fire. As head of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York, Rescorla used the same tactics to calm co-workers as he led them from their offices during the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rescorla survived battlefields in Southwest Asia, but he apparently was not so fortunate Sept. 11. Currently on the missing list, Rescorla was last seen in a 10th-floor staircase. He is credited with saving 3,800 colleagues, while sacrificing himself.

Rescorla is a featured character in "We Were Soldiers Once … And Young," a factual account of combat in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley. Written by Army Gen. Hal Moore and reporter Joe Galloway, the book is considered required reading among Army officers. Since the book was first published in 1996, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has sold 47,000 copies, with more than 3,200 sold in the last year alone. The book was made into a Mel Gibson movie that is due out next spring.

"He was on the cover of the book," Galloway said, recalling the photo of Rescorla as a battle-weary lieutenant preparing for a bayonet charge with his M-16 rifle. Rescorla, 62, took charge during the terrorist attack on his building, just as if he was again in combat, Galloway said during a telephone interview from his home in Washington, D.C. "No one would have expected anything less of him," Galloway said. Rescorla was in his office on the 44th floor at 8:48 a.m., when the first plane struck the neighboring tower. At 9:10 a.m., a plane hit the second building where Morgan Stanley, an international financial services firm, had offices between the 43rd and 66th floors. Survivors said Rescorla grabbed a bullhorn and cleared out 3,800 workers from 20 floors. When newspapers published accounts of Rescorla’s calming office workers with his songs, Galloway remembered Rescorla singing Welsh mining songs during combat in Vietnam. Comrades who served with Rescorla said he would sing and tell jokes to motivate troops. "He was doing what he always did, singing to them," Galloway said. "Just as he did in battle."

In 1993, when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center, Rescorla also headed the evacuation. To get the crowd’s attention during that attack, he mooned them, Galloway said. "He was a genuine hero then," Galloway said. According to a press account, Morgan Stanley employee Bob Sloss last saw Rescorla in a 10th floor stairwell, calming the fleeing mob of office workers. "Rick was down toward the base trying to make sure people got down and out," Sloss was quoted in the report. "He was definitely there well after it had been established that the building was in trouble."

Born in Hayle, England, in 1939, Rescorla joined the U.S. Army in the 1960s and went to Vietnam as a platoon leader with the B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. In November 1965, his unit plunged into a battle at Landing Zone X-Ray, at the base of the Chu Pong, a 2,400-foot mountain in the Ia Drang Valley. He later survived a North Vietnamese ambush at nearby Landing Zone Albany that claimed the lives of 151 men in his unit. In the book, Rescorla played a significant part in repelling the enemy when they outnumbered his unit. Moore, the officer who led the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray, and Galloway, a UPI reporter who covered it, painted Rescorla as a likeable character, who was a skilled leader under fire. "Gen. Moore said he was the finest platoon leader in the Army," Galloway recalled.

After the war, Rescorla went to Oklahoma University on the G.I. bill, and later earned a master’s degree and a law degree. In 1989, he retired as a colonel in the Army Reserve. For the past 18 years, he had worked in security management for Morgan Stanley. During a televised celebrity fund-raiser following the attacks, Robin Williams told the nation of Rescorla’s heroism, Galloway said. Galloway said he will no doubt have Rescorla on his mind Nov. 16, as he speaks to members of the 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry during the unit’s annual ball in Schweinfurt, Germany. "If you can go to the grave knowing you helped save people, it seems to be a life well-lived," Galloway said. "He died as he lived, a great soldier."

Rick Scavetta
Stars and Stripes  

 

  

More reading...it's well worth your time to click these links and remember a true modern day hero.  One of the sites records how many times people have remembered a hero by adding a flower at the bottom of the page for each visitor.  Please click through to find out which one it is!

 Rick Rescorla.com

 Rick Rescorla "Follow Me" Statue Unveiling

 The Official Site of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

 Mudville Gazette: Rick Rescorla Was A Soldier

 

 Blackfive: Rick Rescorla: Someone You Should Know

 Rick Rescorla: Cornish Hero

 LZXray.com: American Soldier

 We Were Soldiers Once And Young

 TapsBugler: From Vietnam to the World Trade Center

 All The Heroes Are Dead

 9-11 Heroes Page

 Armchair General: Rick Rescorla forum thread

 Modern Day Heroes: A Witness to the Heroism of Many (our own Aloha Ronnie!)

 

Thank you for your help, Aloha Ronnie!

Prayers going up for the family and friends of Rick Rescorla. 
May God bless you and give you comfort and peace. 
Rick was truly a hero. 

 

A hero is someone who has given his or herself to something bigger than oneself.
-Joseph Campbell

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.
-Bob Dylan (!)

This thread is a re-run and was first posted in the FReeper Canteen in 2007.  We can never remember our heroes too often. 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[E.G.C.]

Well, it's going OK. Feels a little bit warm than the last few days.

((HUGS))Good morning, GodBlessUSA. How's it going?

[luvie]

A day off is always good, no matter when! :D

[luvie]

A day off is always good, no matter when! :D

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning/afternoon, tom.

[ConorMacNessa]

I agree!

[SevenofNine]

Breaking news earthquake shook up El Salvador

RodrigoBNO The earthquake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.0, struck about 24 miles west-southwest of Ahuachapan in El Salvador

RodrigoBNO There were reports of shaking in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — BNO News

SkyNewsBreak 6.0-magnitude quake hits near west coast of El Salvador: US experts (via AFP)

[Lady Jag]

Good afternoon to The Canteen!

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good afternoon, L.J. How’s it going?

[HiJinx]

In the office and chained to the desk today

Bummer! I don't know which is worse, being chained to the desk or being chained to the honey-dew while she's at work.

I guess I'm not too bad off; the chores are done and I'll be able to go do some running around of my own after lunch...

[tomkow6]

Boy, Godzilla's stomping around close to USA, eh?

He better not be trying to get my vodka or burkas!

[tomkow6]

Boy, Godzilla's stomping around close to USA, eh?

He better not be trying to get my vodka or burkas!

[SevenofNine]

I don’t know what Godzilla problem he tick off that they going do remake of Godzilla according to recent Hollywood Reportr I have feeling he may go after Hollywood

[SevenofNine]

OH OH National Weather service has weather alert for Station fire residents

.NEW.KLOX.FF.W.0002.100118T2017Z-100119T0015Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
1217 PM PST MON JAN 18 2010
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OXNARD HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
THE STATION AND MORRIS BURN AREAS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

* UNTIL 415 PM PST

* AT 1210 PM PST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAIN MOVING INTO
THE STATION AND MORRIS BURN AREAS...WITH ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN AND
POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. RAINFALL RATES
WILL INCREASE TO BETWEEN .75 AND 1.00 INCH PER HOUR THIS AFTERNOON...
WITH LOCAL RATES AS HIGH AS 1.25 INCHES PER HOUR NEAR THUNDERSTORMS AND
ACROSS FAVORED SOUTH FACING SLOPES. THE HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL WILL
LIKELY GENERATE FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN THE BURN AREAS.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE THE STATION AND MORRIS BURN AREAS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS SHOULD BE
ALERT TO FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS WHICH MAY BLOCK ROADS AND
CULVERTS.

&&

---

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
814 AM PST MON JAN 18 2010

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good afternoon, Mac....I’m chained too. Lost FR for a while and bogged down with stuff....And the phone keeps ringing. LOL!

[SevenofNine]

Well breaking news Japan airliner going file Chapter 11

BreakingNews Japan Airlines to announce plan to cut 15,700 jobs, third of workforce, in bankruptcy filing expected Tuesday—FT.com http://bit.ly/4mIAUH

[StarCMC]

Thank you!! ARGH!! I ran out of time and didn’t get to re-check the links this time — the last time we did this thread was back in 2007.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good afernoon, u...((HUGS))...hope you had a good weekend. Are you catching any of the rain I've been hearing about?

God Bless and watch over our troops. Thanks for the Heart for Troops.

[DieHard the Hunter]

Hi Kathy! — thanks for the PING

Great Hero today — long overdue for posthumous decoration for his 9/11 actions: to say nothing of his heroism at Ia Drang.

He was the right man at the right time when the Towers fell, and hundreds if not thousands of Americans owe him their lives.

[PROCON]

Hi Ma and Happy Belated Birthday!!

I worked today but had Friday off, so it all worked out.

Enjoy your 29th Birthday! :=)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Why thank you....29 is a good year. d:o)