The Man in the Red Bandana

By Erin Spellman

As a young Welles Remy Crowther dressed for church one Sunday morning, his father pulled him aside and gave him two handkerchiefs: a white pocket square for his church attire and a red bandana to blow his nose. Mr. Crowther told his son, “One to show and one to blow”. Welles never went another day without wearing his red bandana.

Since he was a small child, Welles felt a strong sense of duty. Following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the Empire Hook & Ladder Co., No. 1 in Upper Nyack, NY at age seven and gained status as a full firefighter by age eighteen. 

Although Welles’ dream was to pursue a career as a firefighter, he went on to play lacrosse at Boston College and eventually secured a job with the investment bank, Sandler O’Neill, on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City after graduating in 1999. 

Once American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower on the morning of September 11th, 2001, Welles left his mother a voicemail saying that he was okay. That was the last time she would hear her son’s voice. 

The final moments of Welles’ life remained a mystery that his parents spent months trying to piece together. After going through every bit of news coverage she could get her hands on, Mrs. Crowther came across a New York Times article two months after her son’s remains were recovered that provided an insight to the absolute mayhem inside of the towers after the planes struck. 

One of the eyewitnesses named Judy Wein explained how she saw a young man who worked in the building appear practically out of thin air to put out fires. He yelled out, “everyone who can stand, stand now. If you can help others, do so.” He ushered Wein and her coworkers to the stairs and ran back to the sky lobby. Another eyewitness, Ling Young, described a calm, level-headed young man who managed to save dozens of people after finding the only passable stairwell in the buildings. Both eyewitnesses provided one very important detail: to keep out the suffocating smoke and debris as he ushered others out to safety, the young man wore a red bandana. As she read on, she learned that her only son had worked alongside the firefighters to usher others to safety and free those who were trapped.

Mr. and Mrs. Crowther immediately contacted the survivors from the New York Times article who they believed were saved by Welles and it was confirmed that their son, Welles Remy Crowder, worked alongside the heroic New York City firefighters to save over a dozen people that day before the south tower fell. 

Welles’ remains were recovered in March of 2002 surrounded by the remains of New York City firefighters.

Just a few weeks before the terrorist attacks, Welles suggested to his father that he was thinking of leaving his finance job at the World Trade Center to pursue firefighting full time. While clearing out Welles’ vacant New York City apartment after he perished in the rubble, Mr. Crowther found his son’s filled-out application. In 2006, the New York City fire department named Welles Remy Crowther as an honorary firefighter.

Each year, Boston College, Crowther’s alma mater and my own, hosts its biggest football game of the season in his honor called the “Red Bandana Game.” Students wear shirts with Welles’ lacrosse number and American flags on their back, decorated with red bandanas to remember the man who gave his life for the service of others. No matter how highly ranked our opponent is, Boston College usually wins the “Red Bandana Game,” an annual miracle that one can only attribute to the spirit of BC “superfan” Welles Remy Crowther. As a Boston College alum, I can attest that there is nothing like the energy on campus the day of the “Red Bandana Game.” 

In Welles’ honor, his family has established a charitable trust in his name to keep their son’s memory alive through benefitting young people who serve their communities in various ways. Many schools have even created curriculum in his name to instill the values that Welles embodied. 

One of Welles’ co-workers often poked fun at him for sporting his red bandana while at work every day. Welles used to joke, “this bandana is going to change the world.” History proved Welles’ statement especially clairvoyant.

Photo via 911memorial.com