![]() Jeff Crowther then handed his son a handkerchief to put in the jacket “for show” and a red bandana to keep in a back pocket “for blows,” Alison Crowther says. The family used to dress up for church, she says, and one week, a young Welles Crowther asked his father for a handkerchief to put in the breast pocket of his jacket. ![]() The Origins Of The Famous Red Bandana Welles Crowther jumping as a child. “But he was also kind of like a guardian angel.”Īt age 5, Welles Crowther followed his 3-year-old sister after she ran into the street and pulled her back to safety, his mother recalls. “Welles was full of adventure, always was kind of leaping from the highest places,” she says. Taking on the role of a protector in his family, Welles Crowther looked after his two younger sisters and mother, Alison Crowther says. Welles Crowther eventually had full firefighter status. The father used to clean fire trucks with his 7-year-old son, and by age 16, Welles Crowther was a junior member. Jeff Crowther was a member of Upper Nyack's Empire Hook and Ladder Company No. “So when we found out that he was actually free to make his final decisions about how he was going to behave at the attacks, that was a huge relief.” “One of my greatest torments was that he would have been trapped and suffering like so many people were, and that would have been like the ultimate torture for Welles,” she says. When the mother read an article in The New York Times that mentioned the man in the red bandana, she knew she’d found her son. Realizing their son died as a hero helped the couple cope with the loss, Alison Crowther says. At the readings of the victims’ names at the World Trade Center, Jeff Crowther would blow a kiss to the sky as he read his son’s name. Her husband, Jeff Crowther, died of cancer two years ago. “But you just kind of focus on the good that you can try to make come into the world.” Welles Crowther playing lacrosse for Boston College. “It's not just the anniversary, it's every day,” she says. Her husband started the Welles Crowther Trust, which gives out scholarships, and also the Red Bandana Project, which provides curriculum and training on leadership.Īs the 20th anniversary approaches, Alison Crowther says she’s developed the strength to help her face the loss of her son. ![]() Crowther travels the country speaking to adults and kids about choosing to be a hero. His mother, Alison Crowther, was on the stage. “He had a big laugh, a joy of life and dreams of seeing the world.” He worked in the South Tower on the 104th floor,” Obama said. “Welles was just 24 years old, with a broad smile and a bright future. Former President Barack Obama spoke of him at the National September 11th Memorial & Museum dedication in 2014. The man in the red bandana was 24-year-old Welles Crowther. Everyone was left to wonder - who was he? The towers collapsed and his body was found with the firefighters. In the 2017 documentary “Man in the Red Bandana,” survivor Ling Young recalls hearing a young man say he found stairs to escape the tower and followed him along with several others.Īfter that man led Young and others out of the South Tower, he ran back up the stairs. His face covered, the man in the red bandana saved at least 18 people by showing them a way out of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 11, 2001, displayed humanity at its worst but also many Americans at their best - like the “ man in the red bandana.” (Courtesy of Alison Crowther) This article is more than 1 year old. Welles Crowther in his Boston College uniform.
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