RICK RESCORLA 1939 - 2001 American Hero

Simon and Schuster has released the new book "Heart of a Soldier"
which is a biography of Rick Rescorla.

	Born in England in 1939,  Rick Rescorla enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1963. After basic training he attended OCS and airborne school, and was assigned as a platoon leader in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
2Lt. C.R. "Rick" Rescorla, 26 "Hard Core" 1-6, B Co. 2/7, 1st Cav, US Army LZ X-Ray/LZ Albany, Ia Drang Valley, VietNam November 16, 1965	Sent to Vietnam, he was a hero of the 1965 Ia Drang Valley battles described in the book and hit movie "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young," and co-author, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore described him as "the best platoon leader I ever saw." Rescorla's men nicknamed him "Hard Core" for his bravery in battle, and revered him for his good humor and compassion towards his men.
Cyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla Colonel, Infantry, USA (Ret.) Silver Star, Bronze Stars-Valor, Meritorious Service, Purple Heart	After Vietnam, Rescorla became a U.S. Citizen, earned college and law degrees, married and raised a family. He continued to serve in the Army Reserve, retiring in 1990 as a Colonel. Since 1985 , he worked in corporate security for investment giant Morgan Stanley. When Islamic terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, Rescorla was instrumental in evacuating the building. He was literally the last man out. He did research and warned authorities that he expected another attack, but was ignored. At Rescorla's insistence, all employees practiced quarterly emergency evacuations.
C.R. "Rick" Rescorla, 62 Vice President, Security Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter Evacuating the 42nd floor of World Trade Center Tower 2 September 11, 2001	On September 11, 2001 American Airlines Flight 11 hit World Trade Center Tower 1 at 8:48 a.m. Rick Rescorla ignored officials' foolish advice to stay put and began the orderly evacuation of Morgan Stanley's 2,800 employees on 20 floors of WTC 2, and 1,000 employees in WTC 5. Rescorla reminded everyone to "be proud to be an American," and sang "God Bless America" and other songs over his bullhorn to help evacuees stay calm as they left the building. Rescorla had most of Morgan Stanley's 3800 employees and people working on other floors of WTC 2 safely out of the buildings by the time United Airlines Flight 175 hit WTC 2 at 9:07. After having reached safety, Rescorla returned to the building to rescue others still inside. He was last seen heading up the stairs of the tenth floor of the collapsing WTC 2. His remains have not been recovered. He leaves a wife and two children.

Rick Rescorla saved the lives of over 3000 people on 9-11-01!

Petition:
Please sign the Presidential Medal of Freedom petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/pmfrick/petition.html

Click here to go to The American Legion, J.B. Clark Post 149 home page

To learn more, see these links:
"A Tower of Courage" by Michael Grunwald, The Washington Post, Sunday, October 28, 2001
        A Tower of Courage
"Voice of the Prophet" by Bob Edwards: Film clips from an interview with Rick Rescorla made in his office at the WTC in 1998.
        Voice of the Prophet
Ia Drang Alumni Association
        Alumni Site
Landing Zone X-Ray web site
        LZ X-Ray
7th US Calvary Regiment Association
        7th Cavalry - Garry Owen

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