As we approach the tenth anniversary, perhaps we could take a moment to remember some of the true heroes.
RIP, 2nd Lt. Cyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla, Platoon Leader, B Co 2/7 Cav ...
"Hard Core" survived the 'Broken Arrow' in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965, only to face another hell in New York City on Sept 11th. In charge of Morgan Stanley security, he was advised by Port Authority police that there was no need to panic when the first tower was hit. "Pis* off" he said, and he began the orderly evacuation of the 2,700 employees on 22 floors of WTC 2 and another 1,000 in WTC 5 across the plaza. He had most of them out to safety by the time the second plane hit. Then, he went back into the South Tower one last time to search for the 3 missing stragglers, and was last seen in the 10th floor stairwell as the tower collapsed on him.
His story has been told on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, in the book
Heart Of A Soldier by Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart. He is also on the cover of another book
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, written by General Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway (made into a movie starring Mel Gibson).
To date, no trace has been found of his body. Nearly 3,000 people died in those two buildings, but out of 3,700 employees Morgan Stanley lost only six, Rick among them. He saved thousands of lives, and in the process gave up his own. He was 62.
