Welcome Remarks for Service, Sacrifice, and Civic Engagement: Cyril 'Rick' Rescorla

Greetings from the National Archives’ flagship building in Washington, DC, which sits on the ancestral lands of the Nacotchtank peoples. I’m David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to tonight’s discussion on “A Life of Selfless Service, Sacrifice, and Civic Engagement: Cyril 'Rick' Rescorla.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the events of September 11th, 2001— events that are recorded in documents, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and first-person testimonies preserved in the National Archives.

America witnessed many heroic actions during and after the attacks on September 11th. Although Colonel Rescorla perished in the attacks, he is credited with saving the lives of 2,700 fellow employees of Morgan Stanley and inspiring all those around him. Our panel tonight will discuss Rescorla’s lifelong courage, service, sense of community, and inspirational leadership as a model for our youth on a day in history that we will never forget.

Our 9/11 commemorative programming is especially important this year since, 20 years later, our schoolchildren have no memory of the attacks and know them only as an event in history. With this in mind, our National Archives education staff have created a number of activities in our free DocsTeach.org resource Colonel Rick Rescorla and his life of service, sacrifice, and civic engagement.

Before we begin tonight’s discussion, I’d like to share a video highlighting moments of Colonel Rescorla’s life of civic service and sacrifice, narrated by Sara Lyons Davis, educator and curator at the National Archives at New York City.

And now it is my honor to welcome our distinguished panel:

Our moderator is Megan Jones, Senior Director of Education Programs, 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City,

And our panelists are:

Dr. Conrad Crane, Chief of Analysis and Research for the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania;

Dr. Lissa Young, assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York; and

Jenna Ryall, Director of Civics for All, Department of Social Studies, New York City Department of Education.

Now let’s hear from our panel. Thank you for joining us.