Exclusive — Mother of 9/11 Hero 'Man in the Red Bandana': His Protective Nature Was Evident from Childhood

Alison Crowther, mother of Welles Remy Crowther, known as the Man in the Red Bandana, who helped rescue 18 people from the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, told Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow on Thursday that her son’s protective nature was visible in childhood.

Welles Crowther became known as the Man in the Red Bandana following reports of survivors’ testimonies who recalled how his leadership and presence of mind were crucial in guiding them to safety after the South Tower was struck by one of the hijacked airliners. A documentary of the same name was produced in 2017.

“That type of nature — his protectiveness, his watching out for others — was very evident from the time he was a little boy,” Alison Crowther told Marlow.

She shared an anecdote of her son protecting his then-three-year-old sister, Honor.

She recalled, “He loved Dukes of Hazzard as a little guy. It fired up his imagination for action. He was always jumping from the highest places, loved G.I. Joe as he got older, had a great imagination, and he was always watching out for his little sister, Honor, who was actually a flight risk.

“We were up on Martha’s Vineyard having lunch one day in Vineyard Haven, which has a busy main street, and suddenly, she, at age of three, she gets up and bolts out the door going between two parked cars, and Welles went right after her — because I was on the other side and couldn’t reach her — and he grabbed her and pulled her back from the street.”

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum recounted Welles Crowther’s heroism as detailed by those whose lives he helped save:

When hijacked Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center’s South Tower, people on the 78th floor sky lobby huddled together, frightened and confused. There was no escape as far as they could tell. Then, a man with a red bandana covering his nose and mouth suddenly appeared from the wreckage and smoke. He spoke in a calm voice and guided them to a stairway, leading them to safety. The man in the red bandana made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed.

…

Welles Crowther’s bravery and heroism on 9/11 will never be forgotten. As survivor Judy Wein, who was rescued by Crowther notes, “People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did”:

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about Welles Crowther, pictured on the screen with his mother Alison, during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum May 15, 2014 in New York City. The museum spans seven stories, mostly underground, and contains artifacts from the attack on the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001 that include the 80 ft high tridents, the so-called "Ground Zero Cross," the destroyed remains of Company 21's New York Fire Department Engine as well as smaller items such as letter that fell from a hijacked plane and posters of missing loved ones projected onto the wall of the museum. The museum will open to the public on May 21. (Photo by Chang W. Lee-Pool/Getty Images)

Welles Crowther, pictured on the screen with his mother Alison, during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum May 15, 2014 in New York City (Photo by Chang W. Lee-Pool/Getty Images).

Alison Crowther recalled how her son’s heroic actions were unknown to her for months following the terrorist attacks. News reports of survivors who escaped the South Tower on September 11 — crediting their rescues to a man in a red bandana — eventually revealed details of Welles Crowther’s final moments.

“When I actually uncovered in that article in the New York Times clues about this mysterious man in the red bandana, I knew in my heart of hearts that that was Welles because he always carried a red bandana since he was a little boy,” Alison Crowther stated. “I had such a sense of relief and almost — this may sound strange — but almost joy for him after all those months, knowing he was gone, and [being] so worried and tormented that he’d been trapped and suffering like so many others were in his final hour, to learn that he had been free to be his full self, to use his skills that he learned as a firefighter to save lives”:

U.S. President Barack Obama greets World Trade Center attacks survivor Ling Young (C) and Alison Crowther, (R) the mother of Welles Crowther who died in the attacks while assisting in evacuation efforts in the South Tower, during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. The museum spans seven stories, mostly underground, and contains artifacts from the attack on the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001 that include the 80 ft high tridents, the so-called "Ground Zero Cross," the destroyed remains of Company 21's New York Fire Department Engine as well as smaller items such as letter that fell from a hijacked plane and posters of missing loved ones projected onto the wall of the museum. The museum will open to the public on May 21. (Photo by John Angelillo-Pool/Getty Images)

John Angelillo-Pool/Getty Images

She added, “Knowing my son, I know that he was on fire that day himself. He was full of care for other people and a sense of saving as many lives as he possibly could. That was a wonderful thing for our family to learn that he was free to make his choice that day and that he made the choice he did did not surprise us at all”:

US President Barack Obama speaks at the dedication of the national September 11th Memorial Museum in New York, on May 15, 2014. The museum, commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington opens to the public on May 21, with wrenchingly familiar sights as well as artifacts never before on public display. An image of 911 hero Welles Crowther is shown on a screen. Crowther is credited with saving sone 12 people during the attacks. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

Welles Crowther was a volunteer firefighter in addition to working as an equities trader with Sandler O’Neill, an investment banking firm in the World Trade Center.

The Welles Crowther Red Bandanna 5K is an annual race held on the Boston College campus to honor the 9/11 hero who is its namesake:

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

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Exclusive — Mother of 9/11 Hero ‘Man in the Red Bandana’: His Protective Nature Was Evident from Childhood

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