Book Recommendation: Heart of a Soldier
From time to time, I like to share a book recommendation with my readers, it’s that time again. I’ve written about Triggernometry, The Power of Awareness, and With the Old Breed recently, very different books but all great reads.
Today I’m offering another great read but with more sobering content, at least more so than the first two. With the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, I found myself reflecting on America and what exactly it means to be an American. I actually read this book several years ago probably around a 9/11 anniversary and in fact, if memory serves, I learned about it reading a 9/11 article.
Heart of a Soldier by James B. Stewart describes the life of Rick Rescorla, a life that renders the word fascinating a woefully inadequate descriptor. Rescorla was born in Hayle, a Cornish seaport on the southwest coast of England in 1939. Hayle served as a staging area for the invasion of Normandy and as such had a strong American presence. Locals, especially the children, were fascinated by the Americans, this fascination proved a huge influence on Rescorla.
He joined the British army when he came of age and ended up serving the British empire by supporting the Northern Rhodesian police force where he met American Daniel J. Hill. Hill’s background and temperament, along with a thirst for adventure, were similar to Rescorla’s and the two remained close friends until Rescorla’s death at the World Trade Center in 2001. Both men enjoyed the thrill of combat and the duty to serve. Hill was instrumental in getting his friend to America and eventually into the American military where their adventures continued into the Viet Nam war.
Rescorla served with Lt. Col. Harold Moore in the first major battle involving the use of helicopter delivered troops in Viet Nam. The battle was made famous by the book We Were Solders Once and Young by Moore and Joseph Galloway and by the Mel Gibson movie of the same name. Rescorla appears on the book’s cover in a photo taken of him by reporter Peter Arnett. Rescorla used techniques and experience honed through combat in Cyprus and in Africa to rally and lead his troops in Viet Nam.
After the war, Rescorla returned to civilian life and eventually made his way to New York City and into security work. By 2001 he was head of security for Morgan Stanley working in the south tower of the World Trade Center. When the center was attacked, Rescorla used the leadership skills developed throughout his military experience to lead Morgan Stanley’s 2700 men and women out of the south tower and to safety. He was ascending the south tower searching for stragglers when the building collapsed.
I can’t adequately describe Rescorla in a way that would do the man justice, but I can say that Heart of a Soldier is a tremendous book and well worth your time. We now live in an America where one political party believes assassination of a political opponent is on the table and over half the people who support that party are ok with that.
Reading about Rick Rescorla may inspire you to step up and do what you can to help change what our society has become. Or it may just give you a few hours away from it all to enjoy the story of a truly wonderful life. It may do both. It’s easy to forget how fortunate we are to live in America, even with its current problems, and what price others paid to ensure our freedoms. Heart of a Soldier is an excellent book that I highly recommend for those who appreciate what it means to be an American.
©2024 Joseph T Drammissi
This article and more of Joe’s work covering the Second Amendment and other topics can be found on Substack at https://getagrip.substack.com