Colonel Richard Cyril Rescorla was born in Halye, Cornwall to the late Stephen Douglas Rescorla (1919-1984) and Annie Lorraine Rescorla (1918-2002).
He left Hayle at 17 years old, joining the army as a paratrooper and would later serve in Cyprus. At the end of his Short-Service Commission, he joined the Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) police before returning to London to join the Metropolitan Police Force. His tenure with the Met police was short-lived and he emigrated to the United States, arriving on Monday, June 17, 1963, where he lived in a hostel in Brooklyn, New York. He stayed there until he was able to enlist, as an American naturlised citizen, in the United States Army serving as a lieutenant and platoon leader in Vietnam and being decorated with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for the courage and bravery he showed during the Battle of Ia Drang, the subject of a top-selling book (on which he appears on the cover) and the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers. After leaving active duty, he remained a reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.
He married his wife, Susan, and resided in Morristown, New Jersey. While experiencing the 1993 bomb explosion at the World Trade Center, he immediately countermanded this instruction and used a loud hailer to evacuate the 2,687 Morgan Stanley employees that were on Floors 43-46 and 59-74 of the South Tower by singing and helping to keep up their spirits as he guided them towards safety. He returned to the building to ensure all employees had left was last seen alive inside on the 10th floor. Richard eventually became head of security for the financial services firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and when the North Tower was struck, the New York Port Authority public address system announced to the occupants of the South Tower to remain at their desks before it got hit.
He left Hayle at 17 years old, joining the army as a paratrooper and would later serve in Cyprus. At the end of his Short-Service Commission, he joined the Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) police before returning to London to join the Metropolitan Police Force. His tenure with the Met police was short-lived and he emigrated to the United States, arriving on Monday, June 17, 1963, where he lived in a hostel in Brooklyn, New York. He stayed there until he was able to enlist, as an American naturlised citizen, in the United States Army serving as a lieutenant and platoon leader in Vietnam and being decorated with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for the courage and bravery he showed during the Battle of Ia Drang, the subject of a top-selling book (on which he appears on the cover) and the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers. After leaving active duty, he remained a reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.
He married his wife, Susan, and resided in Morristown, New Jersey. While experiencing the 1993 bomb explosion at the World Trade Center, he immediately countermanded this instruction and used a loud hailer to evacuate the 2,687 Morgan Stanley employees that were on Floors 43-46 and 59-74 of the South Tower by singing and helping to keep up their spirits as he guided them towards safety. He returned to the building to ensure all employees had left was last seen alive inside on the 10th floor. Richard eventually became head of security for the financial services firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and when the North Tower was struck, the New York Port Authority public address system announced to the occupants of the South Tower to remain at their desks before it got hit.
Colonel Richard Cyril Rescorla was born in Halye, Cornwall to the late Stephen Douglas Rescorla (1919-1984) and Annie Lorraine Rescorla (1918-2002).
He left Hayle at 17 years old, joining the army as a paratrooper and would later serve in Cyprus. At the end of his Short-Service Commission, he joined the Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) police before returning to London to join the Metropolitan Police Force. His tenure with the Met police was short-lived and he emigrated to the United States, arriving on Monday, June 17, 1963, where he lived in a hostel in Brooklyn, New York. He stayed there until he was able to enlist, as an American naturlised citizen, in the United States Army serving as a lieutenant and platoon leader in Vietnam and being decorated with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for the courage and bravery he showed during the Battle of Ia Drang, the subject of a top-selling book (on which he appears on the cover) and the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers. After leaving active duty, he remained a reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.
He married his wife, Susan, and resided in Morristown, New Jersey. While experiencing the 1993 bomb explosion at the World Trade Center, he immediately countermanded this instruction and used a loud hailer to evacuate the 2,687 Morgan Stanley employees that were on Floors 43-46 and 59-74 of the South Tower by singing and helping to keep up their spirits as he guided them towards safety. He returned to the building to ensure all employees had left was last seen alive inside on the 10th floor. Richard eventually became head of security for the financial services firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and when the North Tower was struck, the New York Port Authority public address system announced to the occupants of the South Tower to remain at their desks before it got hit.
He left Hayle at 17 years old, joining the army as a paratrooper and would later serve in Cyprus. At the end of his Short-Service Commission, he joined the Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) police before returning to London to join the Metropolitan Police Force. His tenure with the Met police was short-lived and he emigrated to the United States, arriving on Monday, June 17, 1963, where he lived in a hostel in Brooklyn, New York. He stayed there until he was able to enlist, as an American naturlised citizen, in the United States Army serving as a lieutenant and platoon leader in Vietnam and being decorated with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for the courage and bravery he showed during the Battle of Ia Drang, the subject of a top-selling book (on which he appears on the cover) and the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers. After leaving active duty, he remained a reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.
He married his wife, Susan, and resided in Morristown, New Jersey. While experiencing the 1993 bomb explosion at the World Trade Center, he immediately countermanded this instruction and used a loud hailer to evacuate the 2,687 Morgan Stanley employees that were on Floors 43-46 and 59-74 of the South Tower by singing and helping to keep up their spirits as he guided them towards safety. He returned to the building to ensure all employees had left was last seen alive inside on the 10th floor. Richard eventually became head of security for the financial services firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and when the North Tower was struck, the New York Port Authority public address system announced to the occupants of the South Tower to remain at their desks before it got hit.
