The soldier on the cover of the book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young felt that the title was inappropriate. He felt it should be "We Were Soldiers Once… and Thin" (1 Stewart 241). Though he may have gained a few pounds in the later stages of his life and lost the appearance of a soldier, Rick Rescorla never lost the heart of one. He joked that he and his comrades from Vietnam were going to be die in diapers while spoon fed. He wanted to die as a hero. "Men like us shouldn't go out like this," he said. "We're supposed to die in some desperate battle performing great deeds". He disregarded all of his other successes in his life and said "In my heart, I've always been a soldier" (1 Stewart 242). Though his last battle on September 11, 2001 was probably not one that he envisioned as his last, he envisioned both of the two major terrorist attacks on the twin towers, and through his extensive preparation and his soldier's heart, he was able to perform great deeds and save the lives of thousands.
Cyril Richard Rescorla was born on the eve of war in 1939 in Hayle, a Cornish seaport. When young Cyril was four, his hometown became a staging ground for the Normandy invasion. He was fascinated by the American GIs. He watched them build rhino ferries, which are large transport ships, and he watched waves of planes crossed the English channel on bombing missions. He built model airplanes and tanks. Though he was young, he seemed fearless. He and his friends played with their knives, stabbing imaginary Germans. The one thing that scared him then was a gas mask. He dreamed of adventure (1 Stewart 25-28).
Rescorla grew to be six feet one. He excelled at sports. His rugby teammates assumed that he would become a professional player. He loved singing, especially British fight songs. He often challenged bullies and defended smaller, weaker boys. As soon as he turned seventeen, he decided he would join the British army. He began using his middle name, Rick, in lieu of his first name, Cyril, which he had always despised (1 Stewart 39).
He was posted to the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia. There were aspects of his work that disturbed him, especially the way they interrogated the prisoners. When his three-year tour of duty in Cyprus ended, he had no intention of returning to Hayle. He went to Africa become a part of the police force in Rhodesia and South Africa. He met an American, Dan Hill. They became best of friends. Rescorla killed a lion one day and took a tooth as a good luck charm. "They say it gives you the heart of a lion," he said (1 Stewart 46-49).
Rescorla and Hill decided not to stay in Rhodesia when it was threatened by civil war. They did not want to stay as a part of the police force because they might have had to have fought against the British, which neither of them would have liked. They decided to go to the United States and enroll in Officer Candidate School.
Both Hill and Rescorla excelled in Officer Candidate School. Rescorla and his corps took on the name "hard corps" after he said that they were "one hard corps". He wanted his men to be the best, so they usually did double what every other corps did. They marched and ran ten miles when the others did five. They did one hundred pushups when everyone else did fifty. Although the men did not enjoy the extra work, they respected Rescorla, and did it willingly. Furthermore, unlike the other officers, he did all of the workouts with his men, oftentimes doing more than them.
On graduation, Rescorla was assigned as a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). His excellent leadership qualities were evident even in the trip over to Vietnam. As an officer, he was given a special quarters with another officer and four bunk beds. Because it was difficult for the enlisted men to get a good night's sleep in their hammocks in the crowded quarters, Rescorla allowed the men to sleep in the extra bunks, and the men rotated, so all the men could get a good night's sleep in the officer's quarters. He intensely studied the Vietnamese on Dan Hill's recommendation.
When a fire broke out on the ship, Rescorla got all the men to the lifeboats and reviewed the procedures for surviving at sea in a calm, controlled manner. The fire was brought under control, but if it wasn't, Rescorla would have saved the lives of the panicking men by calming them down and getting them to the lifeboats.
Rescorla got to know his men very well. He did his best to learn everyone's story. He was his platoon's first casualty. When they heard gunfire and a grenade explosion, Rescorla said "I'm going up to see for myself" and disappeared into the brush. He returned gripping his arm, covered in blood. "It's only a flesh wound he said." He returned to the battlefield the next day.
Another time when gunfire burst out, all the men instinctively dove for cover, but Rescorla calmly fixed his bayonet to his gun and disappeared into the tall grass. The men did not see what happened, but he came back and asked them to boil some water because he wanted some tea.
His platoon was assigned to the X-Ray LZ, or landing zone X. It was as if he was without fear. He said he wanted to see the battlefield from the Vietnamese perspective, so he casually walked to the other side to see. None of the enemy was visible, but for all they knew, they were waiting right there. He walked back and said they should move about fifty feet back and dig foxholes there. They had to stay up all night. He sung to keep up their spirits.
At the Albany LZ, he arrived to help out another platoon. He arrived, smiling, which boosted everyone's morale, even though many of them had gone over sixty hours without sleep. One night he heard from one soldier who saw firsthand that the Vietnamese were sneaking around in the night, executing stranded men. He knew because they put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. It left the back of his throat, leaving him alive, but they left him for dead. Disturbed, Rescorla recruited two other men and they were able to save the lives of nine stranded men.
Rescorla personally knew all of his men, and he remembered every man's name who died under him. He never got over his lost men. His Vietnam tour ended in 1966. He was heavily decorated with metals, which included the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He was promoted to captain. He became a citizen in 1967.
He went to the University of Oklahoma in order to pursue a career in writing. He hoped to write a book called Pegasus about his Vietnam experience. He eventually shelved the book. He became a security officer instead.
When the World Trade Center opened, he became the vice president for the security company there. He created evacuation plans and made the employees participate in drills. He predicted that there was going to be a terrorist attack there. He wanted Hill's opinion on it, so he gave him a tour. Afterwards, Hill said it would be easy: just blow up the basement. They tried warning the appropriate people, but they were largely ingnored. When it actually happened on February 20, 1993, Rescorla got everyone out. They visited the site afterwards and by the smell, Hill could tell he was right even about the type of bomb they would use, which was Ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel.
Rescorla began referring to the World Trade Center as a "target" and "ground zero". Hill found that some of the mosques he visited called the World Trade Center a "tower of jews". He predicted an attack. He predicted either they would use a small nuclear weapon or fly a cargo plane into it. He used a flight simulator to fly a Boeing 737 into it. "Easy" he said. He and Rescorla again tried warning about this but to no avail.
Rescorla was very excited when he heard that there was going to be a movie made on X-Ray, the battle at Ia Drang. He got a copy of the script We Were Soldiers and saw he was not in it. Some of the people did what he did, but no actual Rescorla character. Some of the lines said by Mel Gibson's character was actually said by Rescorla. He was beyond disappointment. In April 2001, Rescorla was inducted to the Hall of Fame. When Hill came out for it, Rescorla said "Don't die before we see each other again".
That year, Hill head rumors that something big was going to happen. He suspected that it would happen with Ramadan. He suspected that it would be a terrorist attack. He suspected that it would involve bin Ladin. He created a plan to assassinate bin Ladin, and wanted to carry it out, but he did not get the clearance from the FBI or CIA. He said that it would probably be in New York, Philadelphia, or Washington DC, or maybe a combination.
On September 11, Rick was in the tower that was hit. They heard over the intercom to stay at their desks. However, everyone instinctually lined up for evacuation like how Rescorla taught them in drills. “I’m getting my people the fuck out of here” he said. He was able to evacuate 2,700 people in his building. The last picture taken of him was him directing the traffic of people down the stairs. He had a bullhorn and was singing songs to keep them calm. He could have easily gotten out of the building himself. “I will, as soon as I’ve got everybody else out,” he said. However, he never made it out. The tower collapsed with him in it.
This man is an inspiring man. Lt. Gen. Hal Moore said he was the best platoon leader he ever saw. He was no short of amazing. He died the death of a hero that he wanted to die as, diaper-free. Hearing a story like this makes me want to be someone like him. He was a true leader. He truly had the heart of a soldier and the heart of a lion. He definitely deserved to be in the movie.
