Sometimes from the ashes of tragedy comes an extraordinary, even magical story that inspires, offers hope, and helps heal even the deepest wounds. Heart of a Soldier is such a story, thrillingly told by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blind Eye.Born in Britain on the eve of World War II, Rick Rescorla became an American citizen and a much-decorated soldier. His extraordinary life is woven into the military conflicts of his time, from the battlefields of colonial Africa, where he and his best friend, U.S. Army officer Dan Hill, led lives of adventure worthy of Kipling and Conrad, to some of the deadliest battles of Vietnam, to the epicenter of modern-day terrorism. Surviving them all with great courage and style, Rescorla seemed invincible.
Rescorla tried to put combat and death behind him, and for a time it seemed as though he had succeeded. With his wife Susan, he found the peace and domesticity he craved. But it turned out that everything in his remarkable life had prepared him for one last act of selflessness that transcended all that had come before. On September 11, 2001, he faced the ultimate test.
In charge of security for Morgan Stanley, Rick Rescorla successfully got 2,700 of its employees out of the World Trade Center's South Tower on September 11. Then he went back and began climbing the tower stairs, looking for stragglers.