President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, the equities trader known as the “man in the red bandana,” during a ceremony Tuesday on the Ellipse.
Crowther’s mother Allison and sister Paige accepted the posthumous honor on behalf of the 24-year-old, who has been credited with saving as many as 18 people from the South Tower on September 11, 2001. The tribute fell three days before the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks.
“Welles saved many, many people before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby when the building came down,” Trump said during the ceremony. “This award is in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day.”
The president spoke beside a 16,900-pound steel beam recovered from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, which traveled to Washington as part of the “Steel Across America” tour organized by The Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller established the organization in memory of his brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died after running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in full equipment to reach the attack 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.
Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district covers Crowther’s hometown of Nyack, New York, praised the recognition. “Welles is receiving the recognition he justly deserves,” the congressman stated. “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.”
Crowther’s identity as the mysterious rescuer emerged through a combination of survivor testimony and maternal instinct. In May 2002, survivor Judy Wein said that a man with a red bandana covering his mouth and nose had directed her and others to a working staircase in the smoke-filled tower. Allison Crowther read Wein’s account and recognized her son, who had carried a red bandana since childhood. Welles Crowther’s body had been found two months earlier, alongside firefighters and emergency workers at what authorities believe was a makeshift command post in the South Tower lobby.
A former Boston College lacrosse player and volunteer firefighter, Crowther channeled his training into guiding strangers to safety while the building burned around them.
Tuesday’s ceremony also honored broader sacrifices from that day. Trump announced that a new Coast Guard fast cutter would bear the name of Jeffrey Palazzo, a firefighter and Coast Guard reservist who died alongside 10 other members of the FDNY’s Rescue Squad Five from Staten Island. The president noted that 343 FDNY members, 37 Port Authority Police Department officers, and 23 NYPD officers perished in the attacks.
“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 added.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received acknowledgment during the tribute as well. His firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, lost 658 employees who were working on floors 101 through 105 of the North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 struck. Lutnick survived only because he was taking his 5-year-old son to his first day of kindergarten that morning; his brother Gary was among those killed.
Trump will mark Friday’s anniversary at the Pentagon, while Vice President JD Vance will attend the remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.