WASHINGTON — President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday to Welles Crowther, the equities trader known as the “man in the red bandana” credited with saving more than a dozen people from the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Crowther’s mother Allison and sister Paige accepted the posthumous award — the nation’s highest civilian honor — during a ceremony on the Ellipse paying tribute to first responders who died in the terror attacks 25 years ago Friday. On display next to the stage was a 16,900-pound steel beam taken from the wreckage of the Twin Towers.
“Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby when the building came down,” said the president, adding that the award was “in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day.”
Crowther, a former Boston College lacrosse player and volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Nyack, NY, has been credited with saving as many as 18 people from the South Tower after it was struck by hijacked United Airlines Flight 175.
In May 2002, survivor Judy Wein recalled in a New York Times interview that she had been helped by a man whose mouth and nose were covered by a red bandana to help him breathe and who directed survivors to a set of stairs.
Crowther’s body had been found two months earlier, alongside firefighters and emergency workers at what authorities believe was a makeshift command post. He was 24.
Alison Crowther read Wein’s account and recognized her son, who had carried a red bandana since childhood.
“Welles is receiving the recognition he justly deserves,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose district covers Crowther’s hometown. “I am extremely grateful to President Trump for honoring Welles and the Crowther family, especially his mother Alison. By bestowing the highest civilian honor on Welles Remy Crowther, we also honor every firefighter, police officer, EMT, and first responder who ran toward danger that day to save lives.”
Trump also announced that a new Coast Guard fast cutter would be named after Jeffrey Palazzo, a firefighter and Coast Guard reservist who perished alongside 10 other members of the FDNY’s Rescue Squad Five from Staten Island.
In all, 343 members of the FDNY were lost in the attacks, along with 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department and 23 members of the NYPD.
“For three months after September 11th, the flames raged in the rubble of Ground Zero. For nine months, rescue and recovery crews worked day and night on the site,” Trump said as part of his tribute.
The president also acknowledged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose Cantor Fitzgerald firm lost 658 employees who were working in their offices on floors 101 through 105 of the North Tower when it was hit by American Airlines Flight 11.
Lutnick survived only because he was taking his 5-year-old son to his first day of kindergarten that morning. His brother Gary died in the attack.
Tuesday’s tribute was part of the “Steel Across America” tour ,organized by The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which uses the beam as a traveling memorial to the victims and first responders of 9/11.
Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller founded Tunnel to Towers in honor of his brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died responding to the attacks after running in full equipment through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to get to the site.
“The 16,000-pound beam lifted from the wreckage of the South Tower will forever testify to the courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland struck, our towers knocked down and stood back up stronger, more determined, and more united,” Trump said.
The president will mark Friday’s anniversary at the Pentagon, while Vice President JD Vance attend the remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
Trump was also at the Pentagon last year before traveling to New York to attend a Yankees game where tributes were paid to the victims.
Then-candidate Trump attended the ceremony at Ground Zero in 2024, alongside then-Sen. Vance (R-Ohio), then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
