Blog Posts

By: Dr. Ken Gemlich

You may be asking yourself, “who is Rick Rescorla?” In this blog, we’ll answer just that as we take a look at Rescorla’s life, training, and contributions to corporate security.  Specifically, we’ll examine his decisive actions that saved thousands of lives during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.

Early Life and Service

Though Rick Rescorla is not universally well known, he was a decorated, three-time hero.  Rescorla started off life in 1939, in Hayle, United Kingdom. His hometown, during World War 2, teemed with American soldiers preparing for the Normandy landings. Richard idolized these soldiers and wanted to grow up and be one.  Following his boyhood dreams, at age 16, Rescorla left home and joined the British Army as a paratrooper and went on to serve during the Cyprus emergency that occurred from 1957-1960. After his service, he left England to become a police officer in Rhodesia, where he met American Soldiers who tried to convince him to enlist in the American Army.

However, Rescorla left Rhodesia and moved to London to become a police officer there. After some time, though, he became bored and moved to America and enlisted into the U.S. Army where he became a paratrooper, attended Officer Candidate School, and received an Army commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. Rescorla was sent to Vietnam, where he served under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore. The two participated in the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, that was the battle that inspired the book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young and the movie We Were Soldiers. Richard went on to serve 27 years and achieved the rank of Colonel and earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Corporate Security

After his service, Rescorla went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree and to teach criminal justice. In 1985, Rescorla left teaching and moved to New Jersey and started working for Dean Witter Reynolds at their offices at the World Trade Center. After the Lockerbie bombing of Flight 103, Rescorla became concerned about security and invited his friend Daniel Hill to review security at the World Trade Center. The two compiled and submitted a report to the Port Authority regarding their risk assessments and recommendations relating to added security measures.  The plan, however, was rejected as it was considered too expensive to implement. The report, though, was quite extensive.  For example, the 1993 truck bombing at the World Trade Center, occurred just 30 feet from where the two had predicted an attack would occur.

By 1997, Dean Witter had merged with Morgan Stanley and occupied 22 floors in the World Trade Center South Tower. At 8:46 A.M on the morning of September 11, 2001 American Airways Flight 11 struck the North Tower. Port Authority ordered everyone to stay in place in the South Tower, but Richard instead took his bullhorn, walkie-talkie, and cell phone, and began to systematically order the roughly 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees in the South Tower as well as the roughly 1000 employees in building WTC5 to evacuate. After the evacuation of the employees Rescorla went back into the South Tower to ensure everyone was out.  It was at that time that the South Tower collapsed.

Security Lessons

With his extensive training and preparedness, Rescorla did not panic, recognized the threat the attacks represented to those in his charge, and orchestrated a systematic evacuation while providing needed morale and guidance.  His actions allowed for a swift and successful evacuation of the Morgan Stanley employees. In the end, Rescorla placed the needs of the employees above his own needs and safety and, in so doing, exemplified the definition of a leader. His contributions to corporate security saved lives and continues to serve as a shining example of superior corporate security in action.

Dr. Ken has over 29 years experience in the Unites States Army; holds Secret Security Clearance, has earned a Doctorate in Business and a Masters in Homeland Security, and is an unbelievable cook!