On a warm, late summer afternoon in Hayle, townspeople turned out in big numbers to honour one of their own, Rick Rescorla.
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, in New York, on 11th September, 2001, Rick was working as head of security at Morgan Stanley, in the south tower.
“Everyone was told by the port authorities to stay at their desk, but Rick immediately told all the employees at Morgan Stanley to leave the south tower by the stairs only,” said Trevor Smitheram, president of Hayle Old Cornwall Society. “This gave them valuable time before a second plane crashed into the south tower.”
Rick joined Dean Witter Reynolds, which later merged with Morgan Stanley, in the 1980s. They made Rick an executive vice-president and he became responsible for the security of the firm’s 2,700 employees in the south tower.
The parade en route to the memorial
He introduced strict new security measures after the bombing of the twin towers’ underground car park in 1993, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Again, he was the last person to leave the building after ensuring every person was accounted for. Regular fire and evacuation drills were implemented.
“Age five, he went to Penpol School,” Trevor recounted. “His name is on the Hayle Foundry and Penpol School Honours List.” He went on to Penzance Grammar School, but play after school centred around North Quay, where American soldiers could be observed preparing for D Day.
He joined the Army at 17, and ended up in America in 1963 via stints with the Metropolitan Police, then the police force in North Rhodesia. He joined the US Army, and in 1965 was posted to Vietnam.
Tributes from local schoolchildren in front of Rick Rescorla’s memorial
“Because of how Rick trained with his men, they became known as ‘Hardcore’,” said Trevor. “And that was their radio signal. During all those battles with the enemy, Rick made sure all the American personnel were accounted for and taken back to base. No American would be left behind.” Even in those days, Rick was singing to the men to encourage them.
Hayle Mayor Jeremy Martin opened the ceremony on Hayle harour yesterday, by Rick’s memorial, after a parade of service personnel, veterans, schoolchildren, and others from Penpol School.
“It’s a privilege to welcome you to this very special place, beside Rick’s memorial, and opposite the house where Rick grew up,” said Mr Martin. “As we gather to remember an extraordinary man and mark the anniversary of the events of the 11th September 2001.”
A commemorative display in the Flowertime shop window, by the harbour
He added: “When the first aircraft struck the north tower, Rick refused to simply wait. He began the evacuation of Morgan Stanley employees from the south tower.
“In the midst of the fear and confusion he remained calm, directing people down the stairwell and keeping them moving. As he did so, this man, who had travelled so far from Hayle, sang the songs he had known from home. Thousands of miles from Cornwall, at one of the darkest moments imaginable, a little piece of home was helping Rick reassure frightened people and lead them towards safety. Thousands were saved.”
There was a tribute, too, from the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho. He described 9/11 as a defining moment in recent world history. “All of us here were just appalled bystanders in the tragedy, watching in disbelief on television or listening on the radio as things unfolded. How very much worse if you had been in the terrible position of being at or around the twin towers when the attacks happened, where almost 3,000 people were killed.
Pegasus V, Shetland pony mascot of the Parachute Regiment, of which Rick Rescorla was a member
“And that figure would be almost twice as high were it not for the initiative and bravery of Cornishman and Hayle boy Rick Rescorla, who got almost all of his colleagues out of the southern tower before it was hit by the second aeroplane.
“His service in the British Army, the Metropolitan Police, the Northern Rhodesian Police, and the US military, where he was known as the ‘Cornish Hawk’, demonstrated time and again his courage and his passion and, at the same time, his modesty. He never saw himself as a hero. And, when faced with the ultimate test, he showed true heroism, thinking only of others seeking to get more and more people out of harm’s way and dying while looking for yet further people in the building after it had been struck.
“It makes my heart swell with pride to know that, in his final moments, he was thinking of his Cornish roots and singing songs of Cornwall to boost the morale of those around. Including Men of Cornwall, Stand Ye Steady. ‘It cannot be ever said ye for the battle were not ready. Stand and never yield.’
“Rick Rescorla stood and never yielded. He died for others, and as her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II said after the event, grief is the price we pay for love. And we should grieve for Rick Rescorla. At the same time we should be hugely proud of him as a Cornishman and all that he achieved. We should think of the example he set to us all.”
The ceremony included a laying of wreaths from various organisations, which can by viewed by Rick’s harbourside memorial.
