From Ia Drang to Ground Zero, the opera

Rick Rescorla was twice a hero. In 1965 (photo at left) he fought in the battle of the Ia Drang Valley. In 2011, as a security officer for a brokerage firm, he died in the fall of the World Trade Center towers, having rescued all of his charges but returning to the inferno for one last look.

On Saturday, September 10, the San Francisco Opera will show the premiere of the opera based on the trajectory of his life, with Thomas Hampson (photo at right) singing the lead role. (The arts being what they are, you won't see much about Vietnam in the SFO website, but the photograph says enough.)

And think about this: Mr. Rescorla was an adopted American. He was born and reared in Cornwall. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford