‘The Man in the Red Bandana’ to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom for 9/11 Bravery

A volunteer firefighter and equities trader who rescued many from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Since his heroic rescue efforts 25 years ago, Welles Crowther has been known as "The Man in the Red Bandana." 

"When hijacked Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center’s South Tower, people on the 78th floor sky lobby huddled together, frightened and confused. There was no escape as far as they could tell. Then, a man with a red bandana covering his nose and mouth suddenly appeared from the wreckage and smoke. He spoke in a calm voice and guided them to a stairway, leading them to safety. The man in the red bandana made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed," according to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which has the red bandana on display.

President Donald Trump made the announcement last week that he would honor Crowther, a volunteer firefighter from Nyack, NY. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor.

"I just want to congratulate his great mother in doing a phenomenal job in raising that young man," President Trump said, according to CBS Boston. "Boy, what bravery. He saved those people and became a legend in a sense. Nobody else would have done what he did so he is going to be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Crowther was 24 when he died.

"I just want to say, to me it's such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles' light still shines brightly," said his mother, Alison Crowther, at the rally last week. "His legacy and his example of courage, fearlessness, he was even from a little boy, and his pure humanity that day saving so many lives."

A lacrosse player and graduate of Boston College, each year the college hosts a Red Bandana football game in Crowther's memory.