The heroics of one of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center were unknown to the individual’s family until a newspaper article noted a distinctive reference to something that victim was wearing at the time of his death.
Welles Remy Crowther had worn a red bandana since he was six years old after his father had given it to him. While growing up, Crowther could be seen wearing it everywhere, including during his time as a junior firefighter at his local firehouse.
When Crowther went on to college at Boston College, he became a member of the school’s lacrosse team and wore it during games. After graduating, he became an equities trader and began working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
On that tragic morning, Crowther phoned his mother after the planes hit the buildings to say that he was safe. The family assumed that he had died when the building collapsed.
A few months later, an article in the New York Times indirectly noted his heroics in making sure that others were able to get out of the building. Multiple people mentioned that a man in a red bandana led them to the stairs to safety, which his family immediately noting that the description fit Crowther.
One of the people who was saved by his heroics said that she would have died without his assistant, with his family proudly noting the selfless courage that their son possessed on that day.