Military Career
Rescorla enlisted in the British Army in 1957, training as a paratrooper with The Parachute Regiment, and then serving with an intelligence unit in Cyprus during the Cypriot insurgency. He then served as a paramilitary police inspector in the Northern Rhodesia Police (now the Zambia Police Service). Here he met and forged a "life-altering friendship" with American soldier Daniel J. Hill who inspired Rick to join the U.S. Army and fight in Vietnam. On returning to London and civilian life, he joined the Metropolitan Police Service, but soon resigned and moved to the United States. He lived at a YMCA in Brooklyn until he was able to enlist in the Army. "Rick", as he would thereafter be known, enlisted in the United States Army in 1963, and after basic training at Fort Dix, he attended Officer Candidate School and airborne training at Fort Benning. Upon graduating Rescorla was assigned as a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
Sent to Vietnam, Rescorla participated in the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, described in the book and movie We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, and is the soldier pictured on the book jacket cover. Co-author Lieutenant General Hal Moore described him as "the best platoon leader I ever saw". Rescorla's men nicknamed him "Hard Core" for his bravery in battle, and revered him for his good humor and compassion towards his men. He is also mentioned in the book Baptism by Larry Gwin who also fought at Ia Drang. The fourteenth chapter of the book Rescorla's Game describes him as the "Cornish Hawk". Despite this tough image, according to his second wife and widow Susan Rescorla in her book, Touched by a Hero, music was "so central" to Rick's life that he sang to his troops in Vietnam to calm them – something he would later employ during 9/11.
Rescorla's Vietnam honors included the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
- Silver Star
- Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster
- Purple Heart
- Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry
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