Brits Push for Medal of Freedom for Security Director Who Died During 9/11
New evidence of the courage of 9/11 hero Rick Rescorla has been uncovered by a Bristol TV crew filming a profile of the security chief credited with saving thousands of lives.
The Channel 4 documentary is expected to bolster the campaign to persuade President Bush to award America's highest civilian honour to the Cornishman.
Bristol-based Testimony Films sent producer David Long to the States to interview his widow, Susan, and others who knew Rick for the programme, The Man Who Predicted 9/11, to be screened on Monday, September 5, at 9pm.
It includes previously unheard testimonies of people trying to escape from the Twin Towers inferno as well as dramatic footage from the day.
Rick was a 62-year-old security director at merchant bank Morgan Stanley. He was making a final search of the floor to ensure no one was left behind when the south tower collapsed. Those who survived said he was singing Cornish songs to keep up morale.
Yesterday Mr Long, from Sea Mills, Bristol, said: "In tapes recently released by the New York Port Authority, firefighters make a reference to Rick which underlines how he stayed at his post to the end.
"One fireman can be heard saying: 'I've spoken to the Morgan Stanley security director and he tells me that floor 78 is pretty bad, lots of bodies'.
"Rick was clearly debriefing the first firefighters who arrived there. He was a genuine hero, and his is one of the most remarkable life stories of the post-war era. It was an epic life for a boy from a small town in north Cornwall. He realised he had a destiny to fulfil."
Morgan Stanley was the largest tenant in the World Trade Center and many believe Rick's devotion to duty saved the lives of 2,700 employees. Only six died, but tragically Rick was among them.
He had predicted that airborne terrorists would attack the buildings and had trained his staff to evacuate at short notice.
In the programme, Susan Rescorla recalls what happened on the day of the bombings: "My daughter called me and said, 'Turn on the TV', and when I did it was like deja vu. In other words I was expecting it, definitely. It wasn't even a surprise.
"I just watched in amazement as the south tower came down and it was all over. And, of course, I was just screaming and crying."
Hayle-born Rick served in the British Army with the Paras, then went to fight with the American Army in Vietnam. He was a hero of the Ia Drang battle, later filmed by Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers.
Mr Long said: "It was the agony of losing so many comrades in Vietnam that drove him to be so fiercely protective of his staff.
"In the late 1980s he warned that terrorists would plant a bomb in the basement of the World Trade Centre. His warnings went unheeded.
"The 1993 bombing happened almost exactly as he predicted. He tightened security and radically improved evacuation routes. He was convinced the bombers would return."
Tony Blair has pledged to try to see that the case for Rick to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom is considered in the US.
Copyright ©2005 Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd
