Twenty-five years after the attacks that changed the world, the story of Rick Rescorla continues to be remembered on both sides of the Atlantic.
Hayle-born Cyril Richard 'Rick' Rescorla became known as the hero who foresaw the threat to the Twin Towers and died saving thousands of people around him.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, as the first plane tore into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, thousands of people inside the neighbouring South Tower were told to remain at their desks and were waiting for instructions.
One man didn't wait. Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley's vice president of security, looked out from the 44th floor and immediately understood what was happening. He had spent years preparing for precisely this kind of disaster.
Ignoring instructions telling workers to remain at their desks, the 62-year-old Cornishman picked up his bullhorn and began using it to order thousands of Morgan Stanley employees out of the building. As they descended the dark stairwells, Rick did what he had done throughout his military career, having served in the American Army in the Vietnam War, when faced with fear and danger: he kept people calm. He sang. Songs from his beloved Cornwall echoed through the staircases, including Men of Cornwall, while he encouraged workers to keep moving.
More than 2,500 Morgan Stanley employees would escape the South Tower. Rick would not. Twenty-five years later, his name remains synonymous with one of the most extraordinary stories of courage to emerge from September 11.
Long before he became an American war hero and Wall Street security chief, he was simply 'Tammy' to the people of Hayle, a nickname he was given after supporting boxer Tami Mauriello. Born in the Cornish town in 1939, he attended Penpol School before leaving Cornwall and embarking on a remarkable life.
He served with the British Army before joining the United States Army and fighting in Vietnam, where he became renowned for his courage and leadership. His military experiences would profoundly shape the way he approached security. Rick understood something that many others did not: that preparation could mean the difference between life
Cornwall’s Twin Towers Hero Predicted 9/11