Have you heard of the Man in the Red Bandana?
This September 2021, let us relive his heroic acts that saved the lives of at least 12 people during the attacks on 9/11.
Twenty years ago, the nation experienced one of the most traumatic events that forever transformed the country. Today, as part of the Monthly Lunch and Learn Event, Relax Teams invited Mrs. Alison Crowther, the mother of Welles Remy Crowther also known as the Man in the Red Bandana.
Who is The Man In The Red Bandana?
On September 11, 2001, a domestic passenger flight was hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists and hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Welles Remy Crowther was a 24-year-old Equities Trader and was a fully-trained volunteer firefighter. On that day, when the attacks began, Welles was working at his desk together with at least 200 people in the same building. Welles was one of the civilian heroes who helped people to evacuate.
In the South Tower, Welles made multiple trips from the 78th floor Sky Lobby to about the 61st floor guiding victims and carrying victims down. Welles continued to go back up despite the danger in order to help more people. He ran around putting small fires out, administering aid, and directing people to the stairwell towards safety.
Unfortunately, Welles was still inside when the building totally collapsed.
Remembering Welles Remy Crowther
- On May 15, 2014, a dedication ceremony of the 911 Museum was held. It was attended by then-President Obama who chose to feature Welles' story during the ceremony.
- In 2015 Alison traveled to Amman, Jordan to speak to the leaders of five Arab countries about Welles in their desire to teach their children to become more compassionate and caring of others.
- Award-winning ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi wrote the commentary copy for the ESPN documentary The Man in the Red Bandana. He also wrote two books called The Red Bandana.
Today, Alison continues to travel around the country speaking to different schools and corporations.
About Welles Remy Crowther Trust
Alison and her family established a charitable trust in her son's memory. The mission of the trust is to assist young people to become exemplary adults through education, recreation, health, and character development. These are the guiding principles that help them define organizations to support. They have set up a number of scholarships and identified key organizations to which they donate annually.
How YOU can help
The best way to help is to visit the Boston College website as they organize a Red Bandana Run every year. It is the single largest fundraiser for their organization. Tickets to join are around twenty-five dollars for students and thirty dollars for adults.
They run the program for two weeks so people are able to sign up and join. Within this time period, all the money raised is donated to the Trust.
If you would like to participate, just visit www.bc.edu website and search Red Bandana Run. Registration is open and the kickoff is going to be on Saturday, October 23rd while the virtual run will be through November 4th.