Trump Awards Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther the “Man in the Red Bandana”

Last Friday at RCC, President Donald J. Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, which was accepted on his behalf by his mother Allison Crowther. The award was a complete surprise, and presented on the anniversary of Crowther’s story breaking with the New York Times on Memorial Day, 2002.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States, next to the Congressional Gold Medal. The medal is awarded by the president to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the security or national interests of the U.S., world peace, or significant cultural or public endeavors. Notable recipients include Neil Armstrong, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, and Frank Sinatra.

There is no formal public nomination or congressional approval for the award. The executive government has complete authority to select anyone, and subsequently, anyone is eligible, regardless of citizenship and military status. Lawler and other public officials have been pushing for Crowther to be awarded the medal since at least this past 9/11 anniversary, as they called for action at Empire Hook and Ladder Company in Nyack. 

Crowther’s story is not new to Rockland. A Nyack native and former volunteer firefighter in Nyack, Crowther worked as an equities trader on the 104th floor of the South Tower. When the building was struck, he used a red bandana, which he had carried since childhood, to cover his nose and mouth against thick smoke. Demonstrating extraordinary selflessness, he led survivors to the only operational stairwell, carrying an injured woman on his back and making multiple trips up into the fire to rescue trapped civilians before the tower collapsed. He is credited with saving between 12 to 18 lives. 

Since his death at only 24 years old, his mother Alison Crowther has worked tirelessly to spread his story. When survivors began recounting stories of “the man in the red bandana” who saved their lives on 9/11, Alison realized the description matched her son, the news first breaking on Memorial Day weekend 2002, thanks to the New York Times. She has since devoted her life to sharing his legacy across the country. Crowther said, “It’s been such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly.” 

“I realized early on that I couldn’t pick up a weapon and fight the bad guys myself, but the weapon I had to work with was to bring good into the world, and that’s what I continue to try to do every day,” Crowther said. Welles’ parents, with the support of a Michigan foundation, created the Red Bandana Project, a character-development program for classrooms, sports teams, camps and youth programs. The family also established the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, which they use to fund charitable work. For more information on how to give back to this foundation, visit wellescrowthertrust.org.

Trump said, “I want to congratulate his great mother Allison and his father John, who did a great job in raising Welles from a boy to a man, whose bravery saved all of those people.”