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During a rally in New York, President Trump announced that Welles Remy Crowther, known as the “Man in the Red Bandana,” would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Crowther is celebrated as a hero of the September 11 attacks for his selfless actions in guiding victims to safety from the South Tower before losing his life.
The announcement was made on Friday in Rockland County, alongside Representative Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had advocated for Crowther’s recognition in anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Lawler praised Crowther’s bravery and urged the president to honor his legacy.
At just 24, Crowther was working as an equities trader and volunteered as a firefighter. His courage became legendary when survivors of the attacks shared stories of a man using a red bandana to shield his face from smoke as he led them through the chaos.
“Thanks to the efforts of Bruce, Mike, and our esteemed political leaders, we are honoring Welles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom as we near the 25th anniversary of that fateful day on September 11, 2001,” Trump announced to an appreciative audience in Rockland County.
“It’s the highest civilian award, second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. Welles has now been granted one of these prestigious honors. I want to commend his wonderful mother for raising such an extraordinary young man,” Trump added, drawing applause from the crowd.
“Boy, what bravery, saved those people and became a legend in a sense, nobody else would have done what he did. So he’s going to be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
The president subsequently brought up Welles’ mother, Alison Crowther, who addressed the pro-Trump crowd momentarily, describing the award bestowed on her son as a “huge honor.”
“It’s such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly,” she told the crowd, noting she has traveled the world telling her son’s story to places as far away as Jordan.
Alison Crowther remarked that in these travels, when she tells children Welles’ story, “They’re tremendously moved and inspired … to be better people.”
Welles, an equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower, was in his office when the first aircraft hit the North Tower that morning.
He left his mother a voicemail shortly after the towers were struck, letting her know he was okay, but his body was later found amid the rubble.
According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Welles “made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed,” with some reports indicating he saved up to 18 lives that day. As he did so, Welles covered his nose and mouth with a red bandana he kept at his desk.
That red bandana is currently displayed at the 9/11 museum in New York City. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports first responders and their families, including those who became victims after 9/11, said Welles always kept a red bandana at his desk.
The foundation recounted how, when he was asked why he always carried the red bandana, Welles replied: “With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world.” His father, the foundation said, told Welles to always carry a red bandana on him for “messy jobs.”
“People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did,” a survivor rescued by Crowther has said.