Staff Reports
Townhall’s new video profile, part of its “Heroes of 9/11” series, reintroduces Rick Rescorla to a fresh audience as we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11. The piece is a reminder that real leadership looks nothing like a press release — it looks like a man with a bullhorn who chose people over protocol and never came home.
Rescorla: the bullhorn, the drill, the courage
Rick Rescorla was Morgan Stanley’s head of security in the South Tower. When the North Tower was struck, Port Authority announcements told people to stay at their desks. Rescorla didn’t wait for permission. He grabbed a bullhorn, put his evacuation plans into motion and began moving roughly 2,700 employees out of the building. Survivors remember him singing to calm people as they descended — an image that says as much about leadership as any medal ever could.
Military discipline turned corporate safety into salvation
Rescorla’s background — fighting in Vietnam and serving in the U.S. Army Reserve — shaped those evacuation drills. He ran Morgan Stanley like a unit that trained for the worst, and when the worst came, that training mattered. The result: almost all Morgan Stanley employees in the South Tower lived because a security director took responsibility and acted. There is some disagreement in the record about exactly how many Morgan Stanley employees died; Townhall repeats a figure of 13, while other reputable accounts differ. That discrepancy is worth noting, but it does not change the core fact: Rescorla saved lives.
What conservatives should take from the story
This is a lesson conservatives see clearly: preparedness, plain leadership, and private-sector initiative can save lives. Rescorla didn’t wait on bureaucracy. He made hard calls, trained people to act, and led from the front. It’s fitting that President Trump later awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal — a small national nod to a man whose actions embodied duty and sacrifice. If we honor heroes honestly, we honor the values that made that hero effective.
As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, stories like Rescorla’s deserve more than nostalgia. They demand a sober look at who we choose to trust in a crisis and how we prepare. Remember him not just with a plaque, but with plans, training, and leaders who will pick up the bullhorn when it matters. That’s the best tribute to an American hero.
