From the BSA Alumni Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/BSAAlumniScouts
Today is the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in suburban Pennsylvania. Patriot Day is a remembrance of the lives lost on that September morning and the days following.
Many heroes were associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One was Welles Crowther, an alumnus of Troop 2 (Nyack, NY).
Many don’t know Welles’s story, so here is his story taken from the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust website.
“On September 11 when the attacks on the World Trade Center began, Welles was working on the 104th floor of the South Tower. His final hour remained a mystery until an article was published in The New York Times (5/26/02). Eyewitnesses reported that, after the plane had hit into the Sky Lobby, a man suddenly appeared “out of nowhere”. He was stripped to his T-shirt and wearing a red bandanna to cover his nose and mouth, protection against the smoke and debris.
This man organized a rescue effort on the floors high above where the official rescue workers were able to reach. He called for fire extinguishers, he found and directed dazed and confused victims to the only stairwell that was open for escape, and he carried a woman down to the 61st floor, then returned to the 78th floor to rescue more people. He turned back up once again after bringing the second group of survivors down.
Knowing that her son always carried a red bandanna in his back right pocket, Welles’ mother believed that the description of the mysterious man fit her son. She sent photographs to the eyewitnesses who confirmed that Welles Crowther was the “Man in the Red Bandanna” who helped to save their lives and others on September 11th.”
Scouting prepares young people to be servant leaders. Scouting prepared Welles. Our country needs more Welles Crowthers.
This ESPN video, The Man in the Red Bandana, begins and ends with a question we should ponder.
#BSAAlumni #ScoutingAmerica #PatriotDay #neverforget