Badass of the Week

[brewskis]

Rick Rescorla

Here are the highlights from this article: https://www.badassoft...m/rescorla.html

From both a military and a civilian capacity, it's hard to argue with the statement that Rick Rescorla is one of the greatest heroes in modern American history. This is pretty damn impressive, especially considering that he was British and everything.

Rescorla's first deployment in Her Majesty's Service was as a Military Intelligence officer on the island of Cyprus, where he spent the period from 1957 to 1960 digging up intel on Communist activities and doing a bunch of other presumably-badass clandestine shit that I wasn't able to dig much info up about. After that ended, he transferred to British Rhodesia in 1960, where he spent the next three years running through the bush with an assault rifle battling Communists in Angola and Zimbabwe as a member of the British South African Police.

After transferring out of Rhodesia in 1963, Rick Rescorla suddenly found himself in something of a dilemma: He'd run out of asses to kick. This was only a temporary problem, however, because even though there was a short lull in the seemingly-never-ending British blood feud with the forces of Marxism, (according to him, Britain was simply "fresh out of wars to fight"), Rick Rescorla went out and did the rational thing, which was of course to move to the United States and enlist in the American army so that he could ######ing ship out to Southeast Asia and fight in the goddamned Vietnam War.

Rescorla was on the ground at the very beginning of the Vietnam Shitstorm, and as a platoon leader in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division, he ended up participating in the first major American battle in 'Nam – the bloody Battle of Ia Drang in November of 1965.

According to Hal Moore, the Vietnam vet author of We Were Soldiers, Rescorla was, "the greatest platoon commander I have ever seen," but it was the crazy stories about this guy that really made him a semi-mythical entity among the American troops.

Rick Rescorla died almost exactly 10 years ago today. He was at his post on the 44th floor of World Trade Center Tower 1 on September 11, 2001, when a psychotic madman flew a passenger airliner into the building. He was last seen on the tenth floor of the World Trade Center, headed up.

Of the 2,700 people he had been charged with protecting, all but 6 survived the terrorist attack.

I searched his name and couldn't find anything that had been posted on the forum about him, but I was totally in the dark about this guy until recently. I've read the book We Were Soldiers, but I wasn't aware of the 9/11 stuff at all. This guy died doing what he did best..being a motherf****ing warrior.

[busdriver]

Risk Rescorla was an absolute badass, but also a true leader. A man that put his people before himself until the end, so that others may live. A rescue professional if there ever was....

[JarheadBoom]

Indeed. After the '93 WTC bombing, he pushed HARD for evac drills and increased security, among other things, at the WTC in general and Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter (his employer) in particular. In '01, he knew going up meant almost-certain death... and did it anyway.

[Royal]

Andre once drank 156 beers in one sitting. He also was arrested once for assaulting a TV crew's cameraman; which I consider to be a great honor.

[Napoleon_Tanerite]

Cliffs: Elderly man chases off would-be robbers out of an internet cafe. Only downside is he didn't kill them. No mention if he is a vet or not, but it doesn't really matter. This dude earns BAOTW for sure.

[BQZip01]

Cliffs: Elderly man chases off would-be robbers out of an internet cafe. Only downside is he didn't kill them. No mention if he is a vet or not, but it doesn't really matter. This dude earns BAOTW for sure.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/samuel-williams-duwayne-henderson-davis-dawkins-internet-cafe-shooting_n_1682519.html

[LJDRVR]

I wonder if "Duwayne" was the one shot? What a horrible life sentence of name for a kid, huh? Nobody named Duwayne is going to be the Nobel laureate for physics or become President of the US.

[LJDRVR]

Rutgers to boot! An outlier for sure.

Rutgers to boot! An outlier for sure.

[M2]

I wonder if "Duwayne" was the one shot? What a horrible life sentence of name for a kid, huh? Nobody named Duwayne is going to be the Nobel laureate for physics or become President of the US.

Any variation of the name 'Wayne' isn't good, especially if it's a middle name...

Herewith is the list of serial killers with the middle name of Wayne, as of News of the Weird 809, August 10, 2003 (* deceased):

Timothy Wayne Adams (Texas)

Thomas Wayne Akers (North Carolina)

Stephen Wayne Anderson (California)*

Joshua Wayne Andrews (Virginia)

David Wayne Arisman (California)

Timothy Wayne Barnett (Alabama)

Gerald Wayne Bivins (Indiana)

Scott Wayne Blystone (Pennsylvania)

Steven Wayne Bowman (South Carolina)

Ricky Wayne Brown (Florida)

Michael Wayne Brown (Oklahoma)

Bradley Wayne Cagle (Texas)

Seth Wayne Campbell (Texas)

Darren Wayne Campbell (Oregon)

Mark Wayne Campmire (Connecticut)

Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr. (Florida)

Douglas Wayne Clark (Texas)

Darryl Wayne Claughton (Alberta)

Kevin Wayne Coffey (Texas)

Michael Wayne Cole (North Carolina)

Joseph Wayne Cook (North Carolina)

Billy Wayne Cope (South Carolina)

Alvin Wayne Crane (Texas)*

David Wayne Crews (Tennessee)

Donald Wayne Darling II (Alabama)

Christopher Wayne Davis (Louisiana)

Gary Wayne Davis (Kentucky)

Jerry Wayne Dean (Kentucky)

Gary Wayne Drinkard (Arizona) (ACQUITTED at retrial after 5 years on death row)

Aryan Wayne Duntley (California)

John Wayne Duvall (Oklahoma)*

Dennis Wayne Eaton (Virginia)*

Dale Wayne Eaton (Colorado)

Michael Wayne Eggers (Alabama)

Gary Wayne Etheridge (Texas)

Michael Wayne Farmer (Maryland)

Ellis Wayne Felker (Georgia)*

Michael Wayne Fisher (Pennsylvania)

Terry Wayne Freeman (Illinois)

Percy Wayne Froman (Alabama)

Ronald Wayne Frye (North Carolina)*

Morris Wayne Givens (Alabama)

Richard Wayne Godwin (Oregon)

Arthur Wayne Goodman, Jr. (Texas)

Richard Wayne Gorrie (New Zealand)

Jeffrey Wayne Gorton (Michigan)

Coleman Wayne Gray (Virginia)*

Christopher Wayne Gregory (Texas)

Ralph Wayne Grimes (Kentucky)

Anthony Wayne Grimm (Illinois)

Randall Wayne Hafdahl (Texas)*

Conan Wayne Hale (Oregon)

Kenneth Wayne Hall Sr. (South Carolina)

Michael Wayne Hall (Texas)

Steven Wayne Hall (Alabama)

Jerald Wayne Harjo (Oklahoma)*

Robert Wayne Harris (Texas)

Carl Wayne Heath (Maine)

Brandon Wayne Hedrick (Virginia)

Michael Wayne Henry (Texas)

Rodney Wayne Henry (Kansas)

Donald Wayne Holt (Maryland)

Bryant Wayne Howard (Oregon)

Kenneth Wayne Jackson (Texas)

Allen Wayne Jenecka (Texas)*

Mark Wayne Jennings (Virginia)

Robert Wayne Jiles (New York)

Terry Wayne Johnson (Florida)

Jason Wayne Johnson (Texas)

Mark Wayne Jones (Ohio)

Bruce Wayne Koenig (Maryland)

Derrick Wayne Kualapai, Sr. (California)

Dudley Wayne Kyzer (Alabama)

Monty Wayne Lamb (Texas)

Jeffrey Wayne Leaf (Oklahoma)

Christopher Wayne Lippard (North Carolina)

Kenny Wayne Lockwood (Texas)*

Mark Wayne Lomax (Texas)

Shelly Wayne Martin (Maryland)

Donald Wayne Martin (Texas)*

Steven Wayne McBride (Minnesota)

George Wayne McBroom (Arizona)

David Wayne McCall (Texas)

Rocky Wayne McGowan (Kentucky)

Jason Wayne McVean (Colorado)

Wesley Wayne Miller (Texas)

Jimmy Wayne Miller (Texas)

John Wayne Moore, Jr. (Missouri)

John Wayne Moses (North Carolina)

Jack Wayne Napier (Kentucky)

Danny Wayne Owens (Alabama)

Bryan Wayne Padd (Arizona)

David Wayne Pallister (England)

Jeffrey Wayne Paschall (Utah)

Michael Wayne Perry (Tennessee)

Jason Wayne Petershagen (Texas)

Curtis Wayne Pope (Texas)

Donald Wayne Rainey (Mexico)

Randy Wayne Richards (Canada)

Robert Wayne Rotramel (Oklahoma)

David Wayne Satterfield (Texas)

Christopher Wayne Scarber (Kentucky)

Michael Wayne Sears (Virginia)

Dallas Wayne Shults (Tennessee)

Mark Wayne Silvers (South Carolina)

David Wayne Smith (Virginia)

Daryl Wayne Smith (West Virginia)

Richard Wayne Smith (Texas)*

Richard Wayne Snell (Arkansas)*

Richard Wayne Spicknall (Alabama)

Randall Wayne Stevens (Illinois)

John Wayne Stockdall (Missouri)

Michael Wayne Summers (Missouri)

Gary Wayne Sutton (Tennessee)

Bobby Wayne Swisher (Virginia)*

Michael Wayne Thompson (Indiana)

Andrew Wayne Toler (Texas)

Robert Wayne Vickers (Arizona)*

Billy Wayne Waldrop (Alabama)*

Jerry Wayne Walker (Kentucky)

Anthony Wayne Walker (Ohio)

Daniel Wayne Warfield (Virginia)

Louis Wayne Watters, Jr. (Texas)

Coy Wayne Wesbrook (Texas)

Larry Wayne White (Texas)*

Michael Wayne Williams (Virginia)

Richard Wayne Willoughby (Maryland)

Kenneth Wayne Woodfin (Virginia)

Bobby Wayne Woods (Texas)

Darrell Wayne Wright (Texas)

[Beaver]

Any variation of the name 'Wayne' isn't good, especially if it's a middle name...

Am I missing something? John Wayne Gacy isn't on that list.

[LJDRVR]

Holy crap!

[Guest]

They sure do like to name their murderous offspring Wayne in Texas.

WTFO?

[Royal]

[brickhistory]

Ok, these aren't good guys, but what they did to escape fits the definition to me:

https://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2012/12/prison_break_2_chicago_inmates.html

The escape occurred sometime between 5 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. when the inmates were discovered missing, Chicago Police Sgt. Mark Lazarro said. Hours later, what appeared to be a rope, knotted at six-foot intervals, could be seen dangling into an alley on the side of the Metropolitan Correctional Center from a window approximately 20 stories from the ground.

20 stories via rope.

I give the moniker to 'em.

[Stitch]

Ok, these aren't good guys, but what they did to escape fits the definition to me:

https://www.oregonliv...go_inmates.html

20 stories via rope.

I give the moniker to 'em.

20 stories via rope vs. Saturday night in the shower room.

Not a tough choice.

At least the fall would be quick and relitively painless.

[bowe96]

I wonder if "Duwayne" was the one shot? What a horrible life sentence of name for a kid, huh? Nobody named Duwayne is going to be the Nobel laureate for physics or become President of the US.

Steven Levitt, of Freakonomics fame, would argue that it's not the name. It's that the kid's parents were stupid enough to name him that in the first place, so he was already doomed to failure because of poor genetics and a horrible home life...

[Learjetter]

Steven Levitt, of Freakonomics fame, would argue that it's not the name. It's that the kid's parents were stupid enough to name him that in the first place, so he was already doomed to failure because of poor genetics and a horrible home life...

Rationalization of Victimhood. Ugh.

My reply: Booker T. Washington.

[bowe96]

Rationalization of Victimhood. Ugh.

My reply: Booker T. Washington.

If you've ever read any of Levitt's work, he's just trying to figure out how things tick. He's the guy who explained the drop in crime rate in the 90's was because of Roe vs Wade.

[Mark1]

If you've ever read any of Levitt's work, he's just trying to figure out how things tick. He's the guy who explained the drop in crime rate in the 90's was because of Roe vs Wade.

Yes, but as much as I'd love it if it was a legitimate correlation, it's basically been completely debunked.

[pawnman]

Rationalization of Victimhood. Ugh.

My reply: Booker T. Washington.

Just because any one person can escape from that kind of poverty doesn't change the fact that being born into a single-parent home to someone who didn't finish high school is going to place you at a disadvantage compared to someone with married parents in a middle or upper class home where both parents went to college. It isn't JUST the poverty, it is the emphasis the parents place on education, the surroundings that are not conducive to good study habits, the peer groups that view school as a waste of time, and the lack of resources in the school district itself.

You're right, no one person can say "I got dealt a bad hand, that's why I'm a criminal". But on the macro level, it's pretty easy to predict which neighborhoods will generate future PhDs and which will generate future dropouts.

Andre once drank 156 beers in one sitting. He also was arrested once for assaulting a TV crew's cameraman; which I consider to be a great honor.

[Learjetter]

Just because any one person can escape from that kind of poverty doesn't change the fact that being born into a single-parent home to someone who didn't finish high school is going to place you at a disadvantage compared to someone with married parents in a middle or upper class home where both parents went to college. It isn't JUST the poverty, it is the emphasis the parents place on education, the surroundings that are not conducive to good study habits, the peer groups that view school as a waste of time, and the lack of resources in the school district itself.

You're right, no one person can say "I got dealt a bad hand, that's why I'm a criminal". But on the macro level, it's pretty easy to predict which neighborhoods will generate future PhDs and which will generate future dropouts.

I say again: rationalization of victimhood.

We Americans are all born equal, with equal opportunity before us. Easier for some? Yes. Impossible for any? No.

No American is predestined to crime, or poverty, or addiction. We are free to choose our path, choose our values, choose our behavior.

Show me one "disenfranchised/disadvantaged" youth, and I'll show you the opportunity before him.

ETA: BOTW: Iceal Hambleton

Edited December 23, 2012 by Learjetter

[sky_king]

Give it up. He doesn't understand the concept of statistics. Just because you can flip a coin 1000 times and get heads every time doesn't mean it's statistically reasonable to say it's going to happen.

[pawnman]

I say again: rationalization of victimhood.

We Americans are all born equal, with equal opportunity before us. Easier for some? Yes. Impossible for any? No.

No American is predestined to crime, or poverty, or addiction. We are free to choose our path, choose our values, choose our behavior.

Show me one "disenfranchised/disadvantaged" youth, and I'll show you the opportunity before him.

ETA: BOTW: Iceal Hambleton

I'm pretty sure that's not what I said. Any one disadvantaged youth probably does have opportunities. Any one youth could take advantage of those opportunities. Statistically, the ones in these lower-class neighborhoods don't. Like I said, I couldn't tell you the fate of any single person, but I could predict the high school and college graduation rates given some basic demographic data about the parents.

[stract]

Give it up. He doesn't understand the concept of statistics. Just because you can flip a coin 1000 times and get heads every time doesn't mean it's statistically reasonable to say it's going to happen.

Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead

[Learjetter]

Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead

LOL. "The impossibility of certainty". Shack.

I'm out.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Learjetter