17 Facts About Welles Crowther

Welles Remy Crowther was the first born of three children.

When Welles was six years old, his father gave him a red bandana that would become Crowther's trademark, one that Crowther would wear under all of his sports uniforms in high school.

At 16, Welles Crowther joined his father as a volunteer firefighter, becoming a junior member of the Empire Hook and Ladder Company.

Welles Crowther later attended Boston College, where he played lacrosse.

In 1999, Welles Crowther graduated with honors with a degree in economics.

Welles Crowther subsequently moved to New York City, taking a job as an equities trader for Sandler O'Neill and Partners, settling into an office on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Welles Crowther later entertained dreams of joining the FDNY, the FBI or CIA.

Welles Crowther, carrying a young woman on his back, directed them to the one working stairway.

Welles Crowther found another group of survivors, which included AON Corp.

Welles Crowther's body was found in March 2002, alongside several firefighters and emergency workers bunched in a suspected command post in the South Tower lobby.

Welles Crowther's family was unaware of his actions between his last phone call to his mother and his death, until Allison Welles Crowther read Judy Wein's firsthand account in The New York Times of being saved by a man in a red bandana.

Allison then met with the people Welles Crowther had saved, including Wein and Young, and they confirmed his identity through photographs.

In 2006, Welles Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York City firefighter by Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

In 2013, Crowther's sister, Honor Crowther Fagan, published a children's book about Welles's actions during the September 11 attacks called The Man In the Red Bandana.

Welles Crowther called for fire extinguishers to fight back the flames.

Welles Crowther led those survivors down the stairs to safety, and carried a woman on his shoulders down 17 flights.

Welles Crowther was the subject of the 2017 feature documentary Man in Red Bandana.