Rick Rescorla COL, USA Ret. -- Hero of 9/11

I wrote this two years ago and thought it worth sharing again.

Rick Rescorla, COL, USA Ret, was unquestionably one of the heroes of 9/11. He was a veteran of both the British Army and the American Army (pictured here at Ia Drang in 1965, where he served as a Company Commander during some of the heaviest fighting). 

In February, 1993, Rescorla was the head of security for Dean Witter (later merged with Morgan-Stanley in 1997). He figured the World Trade Center, which had just been attacked by terrorists, would be targeted again and determined to be ready when it happened. He drilled employees relentlessly on evacuating the building and warned the City and NY/NJ Ports Authority, which managed the WTC, about his concerns.

After the first plane hit the WTC on 9/11, the Ports Authority announced over the PA system that all persons should remain in place. Rescorla disregarded the announcement and implemented Morgan Stanley's evacuation procedure. Because of his quick action and years of preparation, over 2,500 Morgan Stanley employees evacuated the WTC before the towers fell. It will be impossible to tell how many others followed the Morgan Stanley employees out of the building because of their example. It is evident however that Rick Rescorla's actions halved (at least) the death toll on 9/11. 

When the last employees were out of the building, Rick went back up to the Morgan Stanley offices to make sure there were no stragglers. He was making that extra effort that defines heroes when the tower collapsed. His body was never recovered. 

His is one story of heroism from that day. We should #NeverForget.