09/11/2026
Today marks 25 years since September 11, 2001.
We want to share a story you may not know — or may have forgotten — about a 24-year-old named Welles Crowther.
Welles worked as an equities trader on the 104th floor of the South Tower. But he'd also been a volunteer firefighter since he was 16, following in his father's footsteps.
And Welles always carried a red bandana.
His father had given him his first one when he was a little boy.
On September 11, Welles made his way to the 78th floor, where he found injured and trapped survivors. With that red bandana covering his face against the smoke, he found a working stairwell and began leading people to safety.
He carried an injured woman on his back down 17 floors.
Then he went back up.
He led another group down.
Then he went back up again.
Survivors didn't know his name. They simply remembered the stranger who kept coming back for them — "the man in the red bandana."
Months later, Welles' mother, Alison, read survivors' accounts of the mysterious man in the red bandana and knew who it was.
That was her son.
Welles never made it out. His body was later recovered alongside firefighters and other rescuers who had been preparing to go back up into the tower.
This week, 25 years later, Welles Crowther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation's highest civilian honor. His family accepted it on his behalf. His legacy now reaches classrooms across 40 states and four countries, teaching young people about courage, empathy, service and putting others before yourself.
Welles was 24 years old.
He had his whole life ahead of him.
No AI-generated image. No advertisement. Just the story of a real American who chose to go back for someone else.
We remember Welles.
We remember them all.
We will never forget. 🇺🇸
