The next morning, they fought off an assault without losing a single man.
But Rescorla's greatest contribution to saving lives occurred on 9/11 at the World Trade Center.
As head of security operations for Morgan Stanley, Rick had predicted a terrorist act involving airplanes.
He ignored this order and began evacuating people along the routes he'd already scouted and planned.
Making sure they were safe, he turned around and went back in to make sure that no one had been left behind.
He saved 2,687 lives on that day alone -- but he did not save his own.
-- nominated by Randall Wallace, screenwriter of Best Picture winner Braveheart, writer/director of both Heaven is for Real and We Were Soldiers, and director of Secretariat. »