RSS 2.0
The Straight Line Connecting Vietnam, 9/11, and the War in Iraq
The Left would like us to believe that Iraq is another Vietnam. The way they are trying to pull us out prematurely solidifies the point. While they are wrong about most of the parallels they try to draw between Vietnam and Iraq, there are some notable connections.
The most compelling is the straight line drawn by the leadership, courage, sacrifice, and example of Richard Rescorla (pictured above) which was highlighted this week by Chaplain Mark Penfold during the 1st Air Cavalry “Warrior” Brigade (ACB), 1st Cavalry Division, 9/11 prayer breakfast:
The keynote speaker for the prayer breakfast was Chap. (Maj.) Mark Penfold, the “Warrior” brigade’s chaplain, who hails from Michigan City, Ind.
Penfold made the assertion that the 1st Cav. Div. had historical ties to the attack on the World TradeCenter in New York City, he said.
He told the story of Richard Rescorla who was not only a young, motivated officer during the first major offensive in Vietnam in the Ia Drang Valley with the 1st Cav. Div., but also the head of security for Morgan Stanley’s Individual Investor Group at the World Trade Center later in life.
While pushing through that first night in the Ia Drang Valley, he walked through the ranks of his Soldiers and kept them motivated. He even sang old Cornish mining songs to raise their spirits, said Penfold.
Then, after sneaking to the enemy’s side and doing some reconnaissance of his troops’ positions, he came back and had them reposition to better survive the fight at daybreak, Penfold said.
The next day his Soldiers held up well under fire and many of them can recount how the leadership and motivation of Rescorla kept them alive, said the Warrior chaplain.
Many years later, on Sept. 11, 2001, Rescorla continued to show his true colors by saving thousands of employees of Morgan Stanley’s Individual Investor Group, said Penfold.
Rescorla was seen on security cameras within the World Trade Center with a bullhorn directing human traffic and singing the same songs he did back in the Ia Drang Valley – motivating the people to stay motivated and stay alive, Penfold said.
Rescorla would later die in the collapse of the World Trade Center, leaving a legacy of heroism, selfless service and an example to all Soldiers and Americans, Penfold said.
“I think there are two critical lessons to learn from Rescorla’s life,” Penfold said. “The first one is that selfless service is not just an Army value. It doesn’t start when you come into the Army and go through basic training and end when you leave.”
“In fact, for many of us and for many of you here, selfless service precedes being in the Army and it will go on and transcend your Army experience,” he continued.
“(Rescorla) was willing to risk his life in combat. He didn’t shirk his responsibilities. And he embraced the value of selfless service and it became a part of who he was,” Penfold said.
“The second example that comes out of Rescorla’s life, for me at least, was the power of example,” said Penfold.
Rescorla, born in England at the start of World War II, later would watch as the U.S. troops moved through his town, impressing on him how extraordinary these forces were – leaving an example to follow later in life, said Penfold.
Penfold contemplated whether this wasn’t occurring in Iraq with the young and impressionable children and the U.S. forces.
“(Do) our Soldiers … as we interact with people, leave that kind of influence on (young Iraqis’) lives? Is our example such that it captures their hearts and minds and burns within them so that when they grow up they want to be something else?” asked Penfold in closing.
For 30 years the Left has maligned America’s involvement in Vietnam and downplayed, no, ignored the sacrifices of men like Rick Rescorla. Now they malign the Iraq War and the incredible sacrifices of men and women who are laying down their lives for our’s and the Iraqi people’s protection and freedom.
Some things never change.
(Award winning author James Stewart memorialized Rescorla in “Heart of a Soldier“. If you don’t have time for the book, Stewart also wrote an an excellent article for the New Yorker. For the movie version, Rescorla was one of the heroes featured in “We Were Soldiers.”)