Hero of the Week 36

Welcome back viewers!

This week's hero is...

Rick Rescorla

Rick Rescorla was born on May 27th, 1939. Throughout his early life, Rescorla dedicated much of his life to serving in the United States Army. He served in the battle of the Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War. For his service and valor he received the bronze star and purple heart. Although he displayed incredible courage in Vietnam, it was what he did on 9/11 that turned him into a legend.

Following his retirement from the army, Rescorla became employed as a security director for Morgan Stanley, a financial services firm located in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He was present during the 1993 terror attack on the twin towers and helped to coordinate its evacuation. In the aftermath of the 1993 attack, Rescorla made major improvements to the trade center incase for the need of future evacuation. Unlike many, Rescorla believed that there would be a second attack on the trade center in the years to come. He was proven right on September 11, 2001.

When American Flight 11 flew into the North Tower, Rescorla immediately assumed the worst and ordered the evacuation of Morgan Stanley's employees. Using a bullhorn and a walkie-talkie, he directed people to the staircase and organized an orderly evacuation out of the tower. Minutes after he did this, United Flight 175 struck the South Tower. This caused Rescorla to step up the evacuation. For the next 50 minutes Rescorla successfully evacuated a total of 2,700 people from the South Tower. Despite being urged to evacuate himself, he refused to do so until he made sure everyone else was out. He was last seen on the 10th floor heading up to check for more people. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM killing all who were still inside. Rick Rescorla's body was never found. He was 62 years old.

The heroism of Rick Rescorla was truly remarkable. He put his life on the line multiple times for his countrymen during his military service and his civilian life. Instead of living a relaxing life of retirement after serving in the Army, he continued to dedicate his life to protecting those around him. And on a day that became the worst in American history, he gave his life to save them. I believe that he is one of the greatest heroes in the world.

https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Rick-Rescorla-Saved-2-687-Lives-on-September-11

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/10/28/a-tower-of-courage/c53e8244-3754-440f-84f8-51f841aff6c8/?utm_term=.928a732c24d3

https://www.thayerleaderdevelopment.com/blog/2017/leadership-on-9-11-the-story-of-rick-rescorla-and-morgan-stanley