A day for those who 'answered the call'

Doug Robinson worked in the World Trade Center in the 1980s and 1990s, as a young hotshot at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

Before moving west to Denver, he got to know Rick Rescorla, the company's head of security and a British Army veteran.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Rescorla led a column of evacuees down a stairwell of the Twin Towers. After the second plane hit, knocking out the power, panic exploded in the corridor as the lights went dark.

Rescorla, at the head of the column, picked up a megaphone and began belting out the Cornish battle hymns of his youth. Many survivors said his singing kept them calm enough to escape.

After escorting the group outside, Rescorla charged back into the building to look for survivors. He was last seen sprinting up the 10th floor, megaphone in hand.

Rescorla was on Robinson's mind on Sept. 12.

Robinson led volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, together with a group from Catholic Charities led by Mark Hahn, as they cleaned up and beautified the grounds at Fort Logan National Cemetery in southwest Denver for the annual National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“This is a day to honor people who gave their lives for others," Robinson said as he unrolled sod over a bare spot on Fort Logan's lawn. "People who answered the call when it came. There's so much divisiveness lately, but we have more in common than we think. It's a solemn anniversary, but it's a day to look past our differences and give back to each other.”