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The Remarkable Hero of the 9/11 Attacks You Need to Know

Never forget

Paul Combs
5 min readSep 9, 2023
Rick Rescorla (Image: BBC.com)

For all of us old enough to remember them, the tragic events of September 11, 2001, are etched in our memories forever. We also remember the brave men and women, from the FDNY and NYPD to the countless first responders, who gave their lives saving others that day. As we approach the anniversary of that terrible day, there is another man we should remember, a man who saved more than 2,000 people that day. His name was Rick Rescorla.

[Note: You can also listen to this episode here.]

Cyril Richard Rescorla was born on May 27, 1939 in the Cornish port town of Hayle in the United Kingdom. He spent time in the British Army as a paratrooper and as a police officer in Rhodesia before joining the US Army at the start of the Vietnam War. He was a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) that participated in the 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. This first major battle of the Vietnam War was chronicled in Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s book We Were Soldiers Once, And Young, and in the Mel Gibson film We Were Soldiers. If you saw the cover of the book before the film tie-in version came out, you’ve seen Rick Rescorla; it’s his picture on the cover.

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Paul Combs
Paul Combs

Written by Paul Combs

Writer, bookseller, would-be roadie for the E Street Band. My ultimate goal is to make books as popular in Texas as high school football...it may take a while.

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