Leo C. Chase
At 21 years old Army Pfc. Leo C. Chase, Jr., was killed while serving with
a Pathfinder unit in Vietnam. Five days later he would have gone home. Chase's
life served as an inspiration to others before and since his death.
Chase was a rifleman in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry. He flew into
Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley of South Vietnam, near the Cambodian
border. The helicopter troops were immediately attacked by thousands of soldiers
of the 320th, 33rd and 66th regiments of the North Vietnamese Army in a battle
that lasted four days. Outnumbered nearly 10 to 1, Chase and the other members of
his platoon bravely repulsed many massive ground assaults from the Viet Cong, all the
while taking fire from enemy snipers.
In the end, Chase and many other members of his platoon lost their lives, but not
without accomplishing their objective. The American lines held because of the courage
and sheer determination of the Seventh Cavalry. 305 Americans and 3,561 North
Vietnamese died. Leo Chase was the first man from St. Johns County to be killed in
Vietnam.
View a full biography of
Leo C. Chase.
St. Augustine Record Article |
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Rick Rescorla
Rick Rescorla was one who lost his life on 9/11/01. He was the VP of
Security for Morgan-Stanley/Dean-Witter, a tenant in the World Trade
Center. His actions on the day of the attack, along with his foresight
and preparation, saved the lives of 2,700 people. On television and radio,
newspapers, books and magazines Rick Rescorla has been immortalized.
During his years of combat in Vietnam, Lt. Rick Rescorla sang to his
troops to keep their spirits up. At Morgan-Stanley/Dean Witter in New
York, Rescorla sang to calm co-workers as he led them from their offices in
the World Trade Center.
Rescorla survived his battles in Southwest Asia, but was not so fortunate
September 11th. He was last seen in a 10th floor staircase. He is credited
with saving others while sacrificing himself.
Rescorla is a character in "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young," an account
of combat in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley. Gen. Hal Moore and reporter Joe
Galloway, the book's authors, sold over 47,000 copies. The book was made into
a Mel Gibson movie.
"He was on the cover of the book," Galloway said, recalling the photo of
Rescorla as a lieutenant preparing for a bayonet charge. Rescorla, 62, took
charge during the terrorist attack on his building, just as if he was again
in combat. Says Galloway, "No one would have expected anything less of him,"
Survivors say Rescorla grabbed a bullhorn and cleared out 3.800 workers from
20 floors. When nespapers published accounts of Rescorla's calming office
workers with his songs, Galloway remembered Rescorla singing Welsh mining
songs during combat in Vietnam. Comrades who served with Rescorla said he
would sing and tell jokes to motivate troops. "He was doing what he always
did, singing to them," Galloway said.
Born in Hayle, England, in 1939, Rescorla joined the U.S. Army in the 1960's
and went to Vietnam as a platoon leader with the B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th
Cavalry. In November 1965, his unit plunged into a battle at Landing Zone
X-Ray, at the base of the Chu Pong, a 2,400 foot mountain in the Ia Drang
Valley. He later survived a North Vietnamese ambush at nearby Landing Zone
Albany that claimed the lives of 151 men in his unit. In the book, Rescorla
played a significant part in repelling the enemy when they outnumbered his
unit. Moore, the officer who led the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray, and
Galloway, a UPI reporter who covered it, painted Rescorla as a likeable
character who was a skilled leader under fire. "Gen. Moore said he was the
finest platoon leader in the Army," Galloway recalled.
After the war, Rescorla went to Oklahoma University on the GI Bill, and later
earned a master's degree and a law degree. In 1989 he retired as a colonel in
the Army Reserve. For the past 18 years, he had worked in security management
for Morgan Stanley. During a televised celebrity fund-raiser following the
attacks, Robin Williams told the nation of Rescorla's heroism. "He died as he
lived, a great soldier," Galloway said. |
