September 11, 2001. It’s a day that changed the lives of millions in New York City, across the United States and even around the world. It’s a day that we as Americans won’t soon forget. And it’s also the day one of my heroes emerged.
Welles Crowther, the Man in the Red Bandana, saved over a dozen lives on the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center. He eventually lost his life that day along with thousands of others. Every year on this day I share his story because it’s a story that needs to be shared.
His Story:
Welles was a former Division I lacrosse player at my alma mater, Boston College. I never knew him, I never met him, but because of this connection we share I’ve looked up to him every day since. After his athletic career had finished he took a job on Wall Street. Although it was helping people that always seemed to be his true calling. Welles worked as a volunteer firefighter throughout his childhood. It was later found that he had even begun to apply for a job with the NYFD prior to his death.
His Impact
On the day of the attacks, Welles saved at least 10 people, but his impact has been felt by thousands more in the years since. Working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Welles climbed up and down multiple flights of stairs putting out fires and carrying people to safety. When one had been saved, he would go back up the stairs into the fire to get the next. On that day, the people he saved didn’t even know his name. Instead, the identified him as a “calm, strong authoritative figure” who they followed to safety. That, and he wore a red bandana over his face to keep out the smoke and debris. When his mother read those reports from survivors, she knew she had found her son.
Welles died that day, but the story of him and his red bandana has lived on. When I left on this trip around the world there weren’t many things I felt like I needed to pack. A red bandana was one of them. It was a reminder of home and a symbol of strength. A precious reminder that life can be short and no matter what the circumstance, you should always try to put others first.
In the years since the attack, I’ve always tried to get my hands on more stories about Welles. And every year I find a little nugget that makes me love him even more. This year I came to find that one of Welles’s coworkers at his Wall Street job often teased him about the red bandana on his desk.
Welles simply replied, “This bandana’s going to change the world.”
He was right.