Rick And Charlie, Talking Things Over
On this 24th anniversary of 9/11, I have a fantasy. In my mind’s eye, I see Rick Rescorla and Charlie Kirk in the Next World, talking things over. They have much in common, so it would be a friendly, interesting conversation.
Rick was a hero in Vietnam, and a hero again on 9/11. At age 31, Charlie had little time to do heroic things. But he spoke out when it was easier, and safer, to keep quiet, and he died heroically. How effective he was is evidenced by the revolting celebrations on the internet, by the out-of-context or purely manufactured quotes, and the undisguised glee of “progressives” at his passing.
Rick is all but forgotten, except by old fogies like me. Charlie is all too fresh in our minds, but soon he will disappear from the media. So while he is still remembered, imagine with me his meeting with Rick Rescorla. If that doesn’t move you, perhaps you should check yourself for a heartbeat.
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What are these men doing?
- Advertising chili cheese burritos.
- Auctioning repossessed cars.
- Auditioning for “American Idol.”
- Saving 2,687 people (but not themselves) on 9/11.
Answer: (4).
Rick Rescorla, chief of security for Morgan Stanley, safely evacuated all 2,687 employees on 9/11 – except for six. Four of the six were himself and his three deputies (two pictured above): Jorge Velasquez, Godwin Forde, and Wesley Mercer (not pictured). That’s true multiculturalism. Rick led his people to safety while shouting encouragement and singing songs through a bullhorn.
Rick was last seen going back into Tower 2 shortly before its collapse. When he was told he should get out, he replied, “As soon as I make sure everyone else is out.” His body was never recovered, but U.S. troops at Fallujah remembered him well.
Rick was a hero in Vietnam − prophetically, his photo is on the cover of “We Were Soldiers Once, and Young.” In the film “We Were Soldiers,” he was the young soldier who picked up a bugle dropped by the enemy. Those who knew him would not be surprised that he was a hero again on 9/11. Instead of the slim young officer he was in Vietnam, Rick was now middle aged, overweight, and afflicted by cancer. But inwardly, he was still the same man.
You can’t tell heroes by outward appearance – you have to watch what they do under pressure.
It would be incorrect to say that Rescorla has been forgotten by the vast majority of Americans – they never heard of him in the first place. The mainstream media, like their leftist cousins in Europe, often depict Americans as oppressors, but rarely as heroes, even dead ones.
Rick and Charlie, talking things over. I can guess what they would say about America and its enemies, foreign and domestic.