By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-08 20:26:34 | Updated at 2026-09-08 21:41:35
1 hour ago
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, a celebrated hero from 9/11 known for the red bandana he wore that fateful day.
Crowther, who was 24 years old, was working in the South Tower as an equities trader on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when the offices below him started filling with smoke after the building was attacked. Hearing screams for help, Crowther moved toward the sounds, but stairwells were destroyed, so he found a small passageway and moved down to the 78th floor, where he started putting out fires, directing survivors to safety, and carrying the injured.
He was killed when the steel-framed skyscraper collapsed.
“Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said during a ceremony at the Ellipse on Sept. 8.
Crowther’s late father, Jeff, who was a firefighter, gave the red bandana to his young son, who had a feeling the item would be important one day.
“He probably knew something about his son when asked why he always kept it. Welles replied, ‘With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world,’” Trump said.
Crowther’s mother, Allison, and sister, Paige, accepted the medal while thanking the president for the honor.
“This means the world to me, my daughters, and our entire family,” his mother said. “This will be treasured for generations to come.”
She spoke of the impact her son’s story has on students and Americans as she travels to schools across the country to tell his story.
“His example and legacy to be better, kinder, and more caring of others, 25 years after 9/11, his life continues to remind us of something very simple,” Crowther said. “In moments when others need us, each of us has the power to choose courage, compassion, and service. That’s the real meaning of the red bandana: to be courageous, to find the good, to be the good.”
The 9/11 memorial event Trump headlined at the Ellipse on Sept. 8 was organized by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
He spoke from a podium situated next to a 21-foot-long, approximately 17,000-pound steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center complex after the buildings collapsed into a pile of rubble and debris.
“When we see this steel, we’re reminded that no matter what threat or challenge comes our way, America will fight, America will endure, and America will prevail,” Trump said. “And nothing can keep our country down, and our country is stronger today than it’s ever been before.”
The beam is being taken around the country as part of the foundation’s Steel Across America tour, with 41 stops in 31 states, covering more than 10,500 miles since May. Recent stops include West Point Military Academy, the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial, and schools, fire stations, and parks nationwide, with the artifact continuing to New York City.
Tunnels to Towers was founded by the siblings of fallen New York Fire Department Firefighter Stephen Siller to remember his sacrifice on 9/11. After working a night shift on Sept. 10, Siller was on his way home to family when he heard a call come over the radio about an emergency at the World Trade Center. He turned his vehicle around, strapped 60 pounds of gear on his back, and ran more than two miles through the tunnel to the South Tower, where he raced up the stairs in search of those needing assistance.
President Donald Trump speaks at the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's 'Steel Across America' event on the Ellipse in Washington on Sept. 8, 2026. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times
Siller was ascending the stairs when the tower collapsed, killing him and 342 of his FDNY colleagues.
Other first responders who died in the collapse include 23 NYPD officers, 37 Port Authority Police, three court officers, and eight paramedics and EMTs. Thousands more perished from exposure to the toxic dust and lingering air pollution after working tirelessly in the rubble looking for survivors.
“[They] made the ultimate sacrifice, and they knew what they were getting into,” Trump said. “They saw it.”
A 21-foot-long, nearly 17,000-pound beam recovered from the World Trade Center rubble after 9/11 on display at the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's 'Steel Across America' event on the Ellipse in Washington on Sept. 8, 2026. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times
“They were running up those stairs, and they knew what was going to happen.”
Jeffrey Palazzo served as a New York firefighter in Elite Rescue Squad Five out of Staten Island. He was killed in the line of duty at Ground Zero while rescuing the injured, but his name will live on, emblazoned on the side of a brand-new Coast Guard cutter.
The president announced the newly commissioned ship on Tuesday as a tribute to Palazzo.
