By Mike Matzinger
Welles Remy Crowther was born on May 17, 1977, in Nyack, New York. From an early age, he showed a deep sense of service and leadership, traits that were nurtured by his family, his community, and especially his time in Scouting.
Welles grew up in Upper Nyack and joined Cub Scouts and later Boy Scout Troop 2 of Nyack. Alongside Scouting, he played hockey and lacrosse, and by age sixteen became a junior volunteer firefighter with Empire Hook & Ladder Company No. 1
When Welles was a boy, his father gave him a red bandanna to carry, just as his father always carried a white handkerchief. It became his trademark. He used it during sports, at the firehouse, and in everyday life. On September 11, that same bandanna would make him unforgettable.
Welles attended Boston College, where he majored in economics and played varsity lacrosse. After graduating in 1999, he took a job as an equities trader at Sandler O’Neill on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Yet he never left behind his love for service—he dreamed of one day joining the New York City Fire Department.
On September 11, 2001, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. Welles, age 24, left a voicemail for his mother at 9:12 saying he was okay. Then he went into action. In the 78th-floor sky lobby, heavily damaged by the crash, survivors described a young man wearing a red bandanna who organized the injured, gave aid, extinguished fires, carried a woman on his back down nearly twenty floors, and led groups of survivors to the only viable stairwell—before going back up through smoke and debris to help more. He was last seen
heading upward with FDNY firefighters, continuing rescue efforts before the tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. It is believed he saved as many as eighteen people that morning.
Welles’s remains were recovered in March 2002 alongside firefighters and emergency workers. In 2006, the FDNY posthumously named him an Honorary Firefighter, one of the department’s highest tributes. His red bandanna is displayed at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Boston College holds the annual Red Bandanna Run, with students wearing bandannas in his honor. The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and the Red Bandanna Project carry forward his legacy by supporting youth leadership, character development, and service—values he lived through Scouting. In Nyack, a memorial built as an Eagle Scout service project includes a piece of World Trade Center steel and the image of a red bandanna.
Though Welles’s life was cut short at age 24, his actions on September 11 stand as a timeless example of the Scout Law—helpful, brave, and loyal. His Scouting years, firefighting service, and personal commitment to others all shaped the young man who gave his life so that others might live. Today, Scouts and citizens alike honor him not only as the man in the red bandanna but also as a son of Scouting, whose story continues to inspire service, leadership, and courage in the face of adversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S77KYbkmjwc