Over 2,800 people died at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001. If I told yo the death toll could have been doubled because of one man, would you believe me? Let me tell you about Rick Rescorla.
Rick Rescorla was born in Cornwall, England. He always wanted to be a soldier. He eventually got his wish in 1963, moving to the United States and joining the fight against communism in Vietnam. Rick worked his way up to platoon leader, and was called one of the most effective and compassionate platoon leaders of the war effort. Fast forward about 20 years and he became head of security for Dean Witters, a stock brokerage/investment company later acquired by Morgan Stanley. The company occupied nearly 40 floors in the South Tower of the World Trace Center.
Rick did not take his job lightly. He had a profound sense of responsibility for the safety of the Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter employees, and every day he came to work to serve them. At the time, the Twin Towers were essentially the center of world capitalism. Rick believed this significance made the Towers subject to attack by terrorist forces. He brought in outside contractors to assess the building’s weaknesses. Alongside these contractor, Rick predicted the WTC would be bombed from the basement garage. He tried to warn Port Authority, but nobody listened to him. On February 26, 1993, Rick’s vision came true: a bomb was set off in the basement of the WTC and six people were killed.
Rick believed this wouldn’t be the last terrorist attack on the WTC. He advised his company to relocate to New Jersey, but the lease wasn’t up until 2005. So Rick took initiative. He did quarterly fire drills and required all Morgan Stanley employees to comply and evacuate (their offices were on floors 40-70). He prepared for what he believed was the inevitable, though nobody believed him.
On September 11, 2001, a plane flew into the North Tower. Port Authority got on the intercom of the South Tower and told everybody to stay put, that they were safe where they were. Rick didn’t buy it for a second. Instead, he grabbed his megaphone and evacuated every floor of Morgan Stanley. While people were running down the stairs (which had failsafe lighting he installed), Rick was going back up the stairs, singing “God Bless America” and making sure people moved calmly. He was last seen on the 10th floor, after the plane flew into the South Tower. He was going back up to make sure everybody had evacuated.
Rick successfully evacuated 2,700 WTC employees on September 11. Over 2,800 died. This is the untold story of American history, the story of a hero who wouldn’t settle for anything less than excellent peroration and effective execution. When the time came, he sprung into action, defying the odds and seeing his mission through until the end. One of the mottos of his life was “Leave No Man Behind.” Rick Died when the South Tower collapsed.
This is a truly remarkable story, but Rick is not superhuman. He was like all of us. He had his opinions and his shortcomings. He had fearful situations in life and went through divorce. He was always fighting authority and nobody listened to him. Regardless he was a leader, a hero. He was empathetic, compassionate, aware, selfless, prepared, confident, intelligent, and didn’t settle for anything less than his best. He had the Heart of a Soldier, as the book by James Steward attests (read this book and also the New Yorker article The Real Heroes are Dead if you want to learn more about Rick and his magnificent life).
Rick Rescorla changed the history of the world because he believed in himself and his mission. So can we.