Thread by @billsweet

The 9/11 story that I cannot forget is of Rick Rescorla - the quintessential story of quiet competence and bravery in the face of fire - his life book-ended by two incredible events in our country's history

(1/16)

born in England, Rick immigrated to the US out of a sheer desire to continue the fight against communism - he experienced this first-hand with the British Army in Cyprus and Rhodesia from 1957-1963, as an inspector & an MP

2/16

he immigrated to the US and joined the US Army with the backing of a friend, Dan Hill, and wrapped up Basic at Fort Dix & OCS at Fort Benning in 1965, just in time for the shit to go down in Southeast Asia

3/16

he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), best known in popular culture by either George Custer's last stand or Kubrick's Ride of the Valkyries scene from Apocalypse now



4/16

in 1965, Recorla's unit learned first-hand about the horrors to come in Vietnam, landing in the Ia Drang valley and in the first major battle between US & Vietnamese forces were almost immediately surrounded and ripped into shreads by the NVA

5/16

in battle, Recorla was a revelation - seemingly everywhere at once, cheering up his men, comforting the dying, rallying troops with an M16 in one hand and M79 grenade launcher in the other - like fucking John Rambo in real life he singlehandedly destroyed a machine-gun nest

6/16

his battalion commander, Hal Moore, who would go on to earn three stars, called him "the greatest platoon commander I have ever seen."

history.army.mil/news/2015/1511…

7/16

41 years later, the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning would unveil on its memorial walk a statue of Rescorla - the caption on the pedestal says everything about Rescorla as a soldier: "LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND."

but we're getting ahead of ourselves

8/16

Rescorla came home, earned his citizenship, and with the GI Bill graduated with a law degree & taught criminal justice. He didn't retire from the Army Reserve until 1990, and only then took a job in corporate security for Dean Witter & then Morgan Stanley - in New York

9/16

A decade ticked by. In 2000, learning that Moore's book about Ia Drang was being made into a movie starring Mel Gibson, Resorla was deeply uncomfortable with the portrayal of he and other combat survivors as heroes.

Rescorla told his wife curtly, "the real heroes are dead."

Rescorla was on duty and at his post at 8:46 AM on September 11 - when the first airplane crashed into Tower 1 (he & Morgan Stanley's offices were in Tower 2) he sprung into action, exactly as he did 36 years earlier

11/16

Ignoring orders from the Port Authority to stand fast, bullhorn-in-hand he began rapidly moving across 22 separate floors, and at day's end had successfully evacuated 2,687 of the 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees

12/16

he was last seen by his colleague Bob Sloss, on the 10th floor, heading back up the stairs. Sloss urged him to get to safety himself.

"I will as soon as everyone else is out," he replied.

leave no man behind

13/16

for more please take a moment and read @JamesStewartNYT 's beautiful 2002 study of Rescorla, and in particular who he left behind when he went back up those stairs in 2001

newyorker.com/magazine/2002/…

14/16

for me, Rescorla's story epitomizes the citizen soldier, and what we should all strive to be as veterans - the best of us never really take off the uniform

stsw.com/2015/09/the-ci…

15/16

Stewart sums it up best, in a fitting tribute from his friend Dan Hill:

"There are certain men born in this world, and they’re supposed to die setting an example for the rest of the weak bastards we’re surrounded with.”

newyorker.com/magazine/2002/…

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