There are some stories you hear and simply remember. Then there are stories that make you stop and ask yourself: What would I have done? On September 11, 2001, Welles Remy Crowther was 24 years old. He was a Boston College graduate. He had played lacrosse for the Eagles. He was working as an equities trader in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He was also a volunteer firefighter. And when the tower was attacked, Welles didn't simply try to save himself.
He went looking for other people. He wrapped his trademark red bandanna around his face to protect himself from the smoke and began helping people down the stairs. Survivors remembered a young man in a red bandanna guiding them toward safety. He carried an injured woman down multiple flights. He helped other survivors. And then he went back upstairs. Again. Again. And again. Boston College credits him with saving as many as 18 people before the South Tower collapsed.
Welles didn't survive. He was 24 years old. Think about that for a second. Twenty-four. He had parents who loved him. Friends. Teammates. A future. A life that had barely begun. And yet, somewhere in that unimaginable chaos, he apparently reached a very simple conclusion: People need help. So, he helped them. That's why I love what Boston College has done with his memory. The school didn't simply put his name on a plaque and move on.
They created a tradition. Every year, Boston College athletes and fans wear red bandannas to remember Welles. Players tie them around their legs, wear them in their hair, or carry them onto the field. Tonight, 25 years after the attacks, Boston College is playing Rutgers in its annual Red Bandanna Game.
Thousands of people will see those red bandannas. And somebody will inevitably ask: “Why are they wearing those?” And someone else will tell them about Welles. That's how we remember. Not by allowing someone's name to become a footnote. By telling the story again. And again. And again. There is a saying that has become particularly important to me over the years. It came from someone I loved very much.
Kim used to say: “Watch what people do, not what they say.” Pay attention to what people say, certainly. Words matter. But actions? Actions tell you something different.
Welles Crowther didn't have time to give a speech about courage. He didn't have time to tell us what kind of person he was. He showed us. He walked into the smoke. He helped people down. He went back upstairs. And when he could have chosen himself, he chose other people.
I can't tell you exactly what Welles was thinking that morning. Nobody can. But I can tell you what he did. And sometimes that's all the answer we need. So tonight, when you see a Boston College player wearing a red bandanna, remember the young man behind it. Remember Welles Crowther. Remember the people he saved. Remember the thousands who never made it home. Remember the firefighters, police officers, EMTs, flight crews, office workers, passengers, strangers and ordinary people who found extraordinary courage when the world suddenly demanded it from them. And remember that 24-year-old kid who kept going back upstairs.
He went upstairs when everyone else was trying to get out.
We remember.
The Man in the Red Bandanna. Always.❤️🩹🇺🇸Sources: Boston College; National September 11 Memorial & Museum.