The Man in the Red Bandana: A Hero of 9/11

Just minutes after United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center, 24-year-old Welles Crowther picked up his phone and called home. “Mom, this is Welles,” he said calmly. “I want you to know that I’m okay.” It was the last time his family would ever hear his voice.

Welles worked as a stock trader at Sandler O’Neil and Partners, on the 104th floor. But when disaster struck, instead of seeking safety, he chose to act. A former volunteer firefighter, he grabbed his signature red bandana, tied it around his face, and began descending toward the 78th floor sky lobby — a place of chaos, fire, and pain.

There, surrounded by smoke and fear, Welles became a leader. Survivors remembered him as a tall man with a steady, reassuring voice, directing people toward the only safe stairway. He lifted the wounded, calmed the panicked, and gave orders with the confidence of someone born to save lives.

At one point, Welles carried an injured woman on his back down fifteen floors to safety. Then, without hesitation, he went back up to help others. “Everyone who can stand, stand now,” he told them. “If you can help others, do it.”

One survivor, Ling Young, later told CNN, “He is definitely my guardian angel. Without him, we would have been sitting there waiting until the building collapsed.”

Because of Welles Crowther, at least a dozen people survived the South Tower that morning. When rescuers eventually found his body, he was in a stairwell beside firefighters, climbing upward with rescue equipment — still trying to save more lives.

Welles never made it out of the tower, but his courage did. Today, he is remembered not just as “the man in the red bandana,” but as a symbol of quiet heroism — proof that even in the darkest moments, one person’s bravery can light the way for many.