09/11/2026
🇺🇸 HONORING THE HEROES OF SEPTEMBER 11 🇺🇸
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001—25 YEARS LATER
Today, our nation pauses to remember the morning that changed America forever.
We remember the 2,977 innocent lives taken in New York City, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
We remember the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, military members, dispatchers, chaplains, and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger.
We remember the survivors, the recovery workers, the families who never saw their loved ones again, and those still living with September 11-related illnesses and trauma.
As Operation Light of Hope – Disaster Relief continues our series honoring the heroes of September 11, today we remember a man whose preparation and decisive leadership helped save thousands of lives.
His name was:
🇺🇸 COLONEL RICK RESCORLA
THE MAN WHO PREPARED—AND THEN WENT BACK
Cyril Richard “Rick” Rescorla was born in Cornwall, England, and lived an extraordinary life of service.
He served as a British paratrooper and police officer before moving to the United States and joining the United States Army.
As a young Army officer, Rick served as a platoon leader with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War. He fought courageously during the Battle of Ia Drang and earned numerous decorations, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
Rick eventually retired from the United States Army Reserve with the rank of colonel.
His military service had taught him something critically important:
Preparation cannot begin after the emergency has already started.
Years later, Rick became the director of corporate security for Morgan Stanley, whose employees occupied numerous floors of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.
After surviving the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Rick recognized that the complex remained a target.
He took that threat seriously.
Rick developed detailed evacuation procedures and required Morgan Stanley employees to participate in regular emergency drills. Employees practiced walking down the stairwells, learned evacuation routes, and were taught how to respond without waiting for someone else to make a decision.
Some reportedly found the drills inconvenient.
But Rick remained firm.
He understood that during a real emergency, people would not rise to the occasion simply because they wanted to.
They would fall back on their training.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Rick’s preparation was put to the ultimate test.
When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., announcements inside the South Tower initially advised occupants that the building was secure.
Rick did not accept that assurance.
He understood the danger and immediately ordered Morgan Stanley employees to evacuate.
Using his bullhorn, radio, and unmistakable command presence, Rick directed employees into the stairwells and began moving them toward safety.
At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.
The building shook violently.
Smoke and fear filled the stairwells.
But Rick remained calm.
He continued directing the evacuation floor by floor. Drawing on the same leadership he had shown in combat, he encouraged frightened employees and reportedly sang traditional Cornish songs to help keep people calm and moving.
The emergency drills worked.
People knew where to go.
They understood the procedures.
They followed the evacuation routes they had practiced.
Because Rick had prepared them before the emergency, nearly all of Morgan Stanley’s approximately 2,700 employees in the South Tower escaped.
Thousands of people made it home to their families that evening because one man refused to treat emergency preparedness as an inconvenience.
But Rick’s mission was not finished.
After helping others reach safety, he learned that additional people might still be inside.
Rick could have remained outside.
He could have said that he had already done enough.
Instead, he went back into the South Tower.
Rick was last seen near the 10th floor, moving upward and continuing to search for anyone who still needed help.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
Rick Rescorla was 62 years old.
His remains have never been identified.
Rick was one of only 13 Morgan Stanley employees who lost their lives that day. Among them were members of the security team who stayed behind to help others.
In 2019, Rick was posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his extraordinary courage, preparation, leadership, and sacrifice.
The Department of Homeland Security also established the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience, recognizing individuals and organizations that demonstrate exceptional leadership in preparing communities to withstand and recover from disasters.
For Operation Light of Hope, Rick’s story carries a message that every first responder, emergency manager, safety officer, business leader, church, nonprofit, and family should remember:
PREPARATION SAVES LIVES.
The drills that seemed inconvenient became lifesaving knowledge.
The emergency plans that could have remained on a shelf became a pathway to safety.
The leader who refused to dismiss the warning signs gave thousands of people the time and direction they needed to escape.
Rick Rescorla reminds us that leadership is not merely holding a title.
Leadership means recognizing danger before others see it.
Leadership means preparing people for the moment you pray will never come.
Leadership means remaining calm when everyone else is afraid.
Leadership means making the difficult decision when hesitation could cost lives.
And sometimes, leadership means reaching safety—and then going back for someone else.
Rick’s example speaks directly to the heart of our mission at Operation Light of Hope.
We prepare before disaster strikes.
We train so that we can respond safely.
We organize equipment and supplies so they are ready when families need them.
We plan because the middle of an emergency is too late to begin.
And when the call comes, we go wherever His light leads us.
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” — Romans 12:10
Today, we remember Colonel Rick Rescorla.
🎖️ A decorated military veteran
🇺🇸 A proud American
📋 A leader who understood the importance of preparation
📢 A calm voice directing thousands toward safety
❤️ A husband, father, friend, and protector
🕯️ A hero who went back for others
May his life remind us that preparedness is an act of service, leadership is an act of responsibility, and courage is an act of love.
As we mark 25 years since September 11, may we never reduce that day to numbers alone.
Every number was a person.
Every person had a name.
Every name represents a family, a story, a life, and a future that was taken.
Today, Operation Light of Hope remembers them all.
May God continue to comfort their families, strengthen the survivors, protect our first responders and military members, and guide us as we carry forward the spirit of courage, service, faith, and unity witnessed on that terrible day.
🇺🇸 SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
🕯️ 25 YEARS LATER—WE STILL REMEMBER.
❤️ WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
Operation Light of Hope – Disaster Relief
🌐 www.operationlightofhope.org
✨ Bringing Hope Where His Light Leads
