Heroism defined
Statue at Fort Benning memorializing Rick Rescorla helps world know a true hero, speakers say
BY MICK WALSH
Staff Writer
Susan Rescorla said she was amazed at the turnout Saturday for the unveiling of a statue at Fort Benning honoring her late husband, Ia Drang Valley and 9/11 hero Rick Rescorla."I thought maybe 80 would show up," she laughed as a crowd of almost 500 begged her for autographs and asked her to pose alongside the statue, which is located directly in front of the National Infantry Museum.Oh, sure retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Knight Ridder columnist Joe Galloway, authors of the definitive book about Ia Drang, the famed 1965 Vietnam battle, were there. So, too, were three Medal of Honor winners, including Ia Drang hero Walter Marm. But it was Susan Rescorla who 1st Cavalry Division veterans wanted to hug and have their picture taken with. Most had known Rescorla the soldier, who retired as a colonel. Fewer had known Rescorla, the vice president of security for Morgan Stanley in New York, who led more than 2,700 people out of the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. But all knew the story of the man Moore called "the best combat platoon leader I ever served with." His radioman at Ia Drang, in the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray, was Sam Fantino. "If you Google Rick's name, it will show up more than 10,000 times in different articles," Fantino said. "If you do mine, it shows up twice... both times in articles about Rick." Hundreds of motorcyclists, representing clubs like Rolling Thunder, Vietnam Vets and 'Nam Knights, came from all over the country to honor Rescorla. Arty Muller, one of the men in black leather with 1st Cavalry and Vietnam insignia, pointed out that America has lost the true meaning of the word "hero." He wasn't the only one to drive home that point. So did Medal of Honor recipient Allen Lynch. "We need to challenge people who use the word to describe athletes, entertainers and even survivors. They're not heroes. Rick Rescorla was a hero." It was Susan Rescorla's second visit to Fort Benning in a year. Earlier, an Al Reid portrait of Rescorla became a permanent part of the museum's collection. "There was never any question as where to put the statue of Rick," she said. "It was here he went to OCS and from here that he left for Vietnam." Galloway met Rescorla at the 1965 battle at Ia Drang. It is Rescorla, carrying a rifle with a fixed bayonet, who is pictured on the cover of Galloway and Moore's best-selling Vietnam War book, "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young." But it was Rescorla's 9/11 courage that had Galloway excited. "If he hadn't done his job the way he did, the death toll at the Trade Center would probably be twice what it is today." Rescorla, an Officer Candidate School Hall of Famer, led Morgan Stanley employees to safety after terrorists crashed a plane into the World Trade Center. "He made one last sweep, as he'd learned at Ia Drang, and was determined not to leave a single soldier behind," said his widow. Six Morgan Stanley security men died that day, including their chief, Rescorla. Rescorla was born in Cornwall, England, and served in the British Army before immigrating to the United States and enlisting in the Army here. After Vietnam, where he served with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, Rescorla became a U.S. citizen. "Rick was proud to call himself an American," Susan Rescorla said. "And I'm proud that he was, too."