Man in Red Bandana

[sirens wailing] [traffic rushing] PRES.

OBAMA: In those awful moments after the South Tower was hit, some of the injured huddled in the wreckage of the 78th floor.

Fires were spreading, the air was filled with smoke.

It was dark.

They could barely see.

It seemed as if there was no way out.

Then there came a voice, clear, calm, saying he had found the stairs.

Out of nowhere, a young man came over, screaming and said, "I found the stairs, follow me.

"Only help the one you can help."

A young man, in his twenties, strong, emerged from the smoke and over his nose and his mouth he wore a red handkerchief.

DONNA: There was just this guy, and I don't know who the guy is, that was just in a doorway and all you heard him say was, "Over here."

I don't know how you thank somebody for that.

I mean, I'm sitting here talking to you and other people aren't.

SALVATORE: There was a story from people that got out, survivors, that somebody helped them.

They didn't know who he was, they couldn't see his face but that he had a red bandana over his mouth and his nose.

And that had been going on, like, you know, we didn't know whether was it a myth?

Was it something that people imagined?

Without him that particular moment, I would've been crushed or buried.

Judy said she never would have gotten out of the tower alive if not for the man with the red handkerchief.

PRES.

OBAMA: They didn't know his name.

They didn't know where he came from, but they knew their lives had been saved by the man in the red bandana.

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: For the families and friends of 9/11 victims, the change brought about by the disaster is profound.

There is no closure for premature loss.

Only a painful, emotional wound that never heals.

One such family is that of Welles Remy Crowther.

Welles is the 24-year-old son of Alison and Jefferson Crowther and older brother to sisters Paige and Honor.

Welles was among the thousands of people who were working at the World Trade Center complex early in the morning that ill-fated day.

He developed a strong work ethic growing up in Upper Nyack, New York, a quaint town nestled along the Hudson River, about 25 miles north of Manhattan.

Welles' mom will never forget a special gift that he received at an early age.

It was the Christmas that Welles was three, that my in-laws, my husband's parents, purchased a little red firetruck that he could sit in and ride.

It was a riding toy.

It became one of his favorite toys and he was always in it, pretending to be going to fires or putting out fires.

NARRATOR: In high school, Welles was captain of the Nyack Indians hockey team and known as a selfless team player.

He also excelled at lacrosse.

TEAMMATE: Good job, Welles.

He was the type of guy, always in your face, never letting you get down, always gave you confidence even in the worst times, the best times, he always gave you confidence and made you want to drive and to succeed and do well.

I would say he's probably one of the most loyal people, you know, I've ever met.

You could be anywhere, you know, you could call him at three in the morning and, you know, you could be in another state and if you needed something, you know, he would do it.

He was just a good-hearted kid.

You know, very happy, you know, always had something positive to say.

If you were down, he was the first one to come over and pat you on the back.

Welles told the coach, he's like, "Hey, put John on a line with me.

"Let him skate on there.

"I want to get him his first varsity goal."

Welles picks up the puck in the middle of the ice, makes a move on the goalie, passes the puck across to me, wide open, net shot and score.

All the guys surround me and then Welles left the celebration, went into the net to grab the puck and he presented it to me in the locker room, him and the coaching staff.

NARRATOR: Like many young boys, Welles adored his father and wanted to be just like him.

ALISON: As soon as my husband joined the firehouse, Welles would go down with him on the weekends to help work on the truck and he was small and had little hands, so they used to send him into the little places in the firetruck that the big men couldn't reach, to clean it, to get it polished up for parades and such.

Welles became a junior firefighter as soon as he was able, when he turned, I believe it's 14.

And then once he turned 16, he could actually begin to train.

He did go up to the Fire Training Center here in Rockland County and he did see live fires.

This photo of Welles was taken when he was 19 years old and it was in September, on Chief's Inspection Parade, wearing his dress uniform for Empire Hook & Ladder Company No.

1.

He was carrying a ceremonial ax.

They always get the young guys to carry the heavy axes in the parades.

NARRATOR: Welles learned much about firefighting from his friend and mentor, Harry Wanamaker.

Harry was a lieutenant in the fire department.

He was a member of Empire Hook & Ladder Company No.

1 and a very good friend of mine and Welles'.

Based on his disposition and his manner, he was just-- he would never give up.

If I was a soldier in a foxhole, I'd love to have Welles next to me, I think.

After Welles graduated from high school, he went on to Boston College, where he spent a very happy four years and was a member of the Boston College men's varsity lacrosse team.

NARRATOR: After graduating in the spring of 1999, Welles was hired by Sandler O'Neill and Partners as an analyst and quickly promoted to equities trader.

You know, he was active, his eyes were active.

He was moving.

I can tell if a guy is going to make it or not just the way they walk on a trading floor.

NARRATOR: Welles was proud of where he worked.

While posing for this June 2001 photograph with Harry, he instructed his dad, "Make sure you get the Twin Towers in the background."

Just three months later, on September 11th, Welles left his Manhattan apartment and was working behind his desk on the 104th floor of the South Tower.

This beautiful and cloudless day in the Northeast United States would soon turn into one of terror.

American Airlines Flight 11 departs Logan International Airport in Boston, bound for Los Angeles.

Fifteen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 leaves Logan, heading to the same destination.

[jet engine whooshing] Not long afterwards, the pilot hears and reports an ominous transmission from Flight 11.

NARRATOR: Within minutes, Flight 175 is also hijacked by another group of terrorists who would turn both aircrafts into flying bombs.

At 8: 46 a.m., Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

NEWS REPORTER: We had seen a fireball and I can tell you it appears as though something has gone into the World Trade Center.

I'm looking at the north side of what is the North Tower, so correct me if I'm wrong, but this is about three-quarters of the way up, maybe even three-fourths of the way up tower one.

There is smoke now, billowing out of the top of the World Trade Center.

My heavens, this has just happened within several minutes.

NARRATOR: Following the first crash, Welles speaks with his college roommate, John Howells.

I'm like, you know, "Are you all right?"

And he's like, "Yeah, you know, I heard it.

I felt it."

I'm like, "Are you guys getting out of there?"

And he's like, "Yeah, we're getting out of there now."

NARRATOR: Seventeen minutes later, Flight 175 strikes Welles' building, killing hundreds in the South Tower as well as 65 on board the aircraft.

All manner of thoughts were running through my mind after I saw the building hit, but before it collapsed and I just... I must have said a lot of prayers.

NARRATOR: After the second crash, Welles is believed to still be on the 104th floor, imperiled above the impact zone, a searing inferno of death and carnage.

Nine minutes after the South Tower crash, he calls his mom and calmly leaves a voicemail.

So I picked it up and that was at about 9: 28, 9:28, 9:30.

WELLES: Mom, this is Welles.

I want you to know that I'm okay.

NARRATOR: Flight 175 struck the South Tower between floors 77 and 85.

Being within the vicinity of floor 78 was critical.

In fact, if the South Tower had a ground zero, then it was the 78th floor.

From the main floor, a dozen express elevators took up to 55 people to 78.

At the 78th floor, there was a sky lobby with local elevators to the higher floors.

After the North Tower was struck, many occupants of the South Tower headed back to the sky lobby.

We took the local elevator from the 81st floor and we went down to the 78th floor, which is a sky lobby where you would get the express elevators.

NARRATOR: It quickly filled up as they waited for one of the express elevators to return from their two-minute round trip.

It was packed.

It's like, so crowded to a point it's like, you could almost hear the other side breathing.

NARRATOR: The concentration of people on the 78th floor, 26 floors below Welles' office, made the sky lobby one of the worst locations within the South Tower for the plane to strike.

See, when you work on the 81st floor, planes flew at the same altitude.

So on an average day, looking further out, let's say a half, a quarter mile, you just see a plane zoom by.

But this time, this plane is coming towards me.

First small and then by the split second it's getting larger, larger, larger.

And in my head, now, I can still hear that sound of the revving engine as the plane gets closer and closer and bigger and bigger, gray in color, U on the tail.

And this Flight 175 United Airlines is bearing down on me, eye level, eye contact.

As I'm looking at this plane, I can hear this revving sound, like probably 1,000 yards away.

You can hear this, like they're accelerating maximum speed to cause more casualty or for whatever reason.

And all I can remember saying was, "Lord, I can't do this.

You take over."

I dropped the phone, screamed, dove under the desk.

And with the most thunderous sound ever-- boom.

[explosion] When I felt the blast, I didn't know what was happening.

I just knew it was some sort of bomb or something.

There was this horrendous noise, an explosion.

Then, all hell broke loose, then things started flying at us.

I was pushed down to the ground like everybody was.

There was horrendous crying and screaming going on.

I got knocked flying and, you know, the false ceilings all came down and debris and dust.

All the lights went out.

It was louder than you can imagine.

JUDY: I basically went flying and as I went flying, I, in my mind, I thought this was the end.

JEFF: I just kept praying that he'd be all right, that he would survive and, uh and that he would get down out of the building safely, without harm.

NARRATOR: The Crowthers did not know it at the time but the odds of Welles or anyone else escaping from the upper reaches of the South Tower were frighteningly dismal.

American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower between the 93rd and the 99th floor.

Some people were killed instantly, but most were trapped.

At or above the 92nd floor, not one person escaped.

1,344 people died.

NARRATOR: The South Tower was struck much lower, between floors 77 and 85, creating a second line of death.

599 people were trapped at or above this level and ultimately died.

However, unlike the North Tower, 18 people in the South Tower were able to miraculously escape from this zone.

Many of them were severely injured and desperately needed help.

Because I don't feel anything, not a thing until I get to the hospital, I didn't know I was burned at all.

I didn't know I was bleeding until they show me a picture.

I remember seeing my friend laying on the floor.

My pocketbook had fallen on her.

She wasn't conscious.

None of my friends that I was with on 78 made it.

I just couldn't see.

It was so dark.

I just couldn't see anybody.

I couldn't help anybody because I was hurt.

I was laying there face down and something from the ceiling crashed next to my head.

And I thought, "I've got to get outta here.

I've got to get up."

NARRATOR: Those in the South Tower who survived the crash of Flight 175 only had 56 minutes to flee.

Buildings are designed to resist wind loads, they're designed to resist gravity loads, but they're designed to resist them with most of their pieces in place.

Once the World Trade Center was hit by the plane, the fire began to consume the fireproofing, but also began to melt the structural steel.

Much like your joint in your knee, the joints that held the floors to the walls gave way.

[people screaming] JEFF: I watched.

I was transfixed.

And when the building collapsed, I dropped to my knees and I prayed.

I said, "Dear Lord, take me now.

Let Welles live.

"Take me in his stead."

I tried calling him, I couldn't get through.

The phone rang again, it was Alison.

When I heard that news, I just knew, I said, "Oh my God, Welles is gone."

I just knew.

So I called my husband back.

I said, "Jeff, Welles is gone."

And I could barely breathe.

And I said, "We don't know, dear.

"He may be fine.

"Let's wait and see.

"Don't jump to any, you know, horrible thoughts."

And Jeff said, "Don't say that.

"He had a lot of skills.

He had time.

"He probably got down.

"He could very well have gotten down."

And I said to her again, "Let's not worry now.

"Let's just wait and see."

NARRATOR: Although struck first, the North Tower comes down 29 minutes after the South Tower collapse.

NEWS REPORTER: All you have is smoke.

It's just astonishing.

People in the newsroom crying, hugging each other.

What a scene today.

I'm shaking, I mean, it's just horrifying.

The second tower just came crumbling down as we were sitting out at the desk and it's just a horrifying scene.

NARRATOR: While 9/11 was truly a tragic day, it also marked one of the greatest rescue operations in our nation's history.

Below the impact zone, the vast majority of civilians were able to escape.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 occupants safely evacuated the two towers.

I was in a couple of different places with this.

In one place, deep inside, I knew he was gone.

In the other place, I was saying, "I can't give up looking for him.

"I'm going to keep looking until I find him."

I spent a lot of time calling hospitals.

And then Alison realized that if she wanted to get through to any of these hospitals, she had to do it between the hours of like 1 a.m.

and 6 a.m.

So every night for a week, Alison stayed up in the middle of the night, working the telephones, calling hospitals, checking to see if Welles had been checked in to any hospital.

No luck, nothing, not a trace.

It was very frustrating.

It was very disheartening, but we didn't give up.

There are thousands and thousands of emergency workers down there.

We've gotten a tremendous amount of help and assistance.

NARRATOR: Harry Wanamaker was among thousands of first responders who poured into Lower Manhattan to help.

JEFF: Harry Wanamaker spent the entire nine months after 9/11 working on the pile, helping to recover bodies.

It was difficult for Harry to talk about at first.

People were still hoping that they would find something or find a miracle.

JEFF: And every time I saw him, he said "I'm looking for Welles.

"I'm looking for Welles.

We'll find him.

"Don't worry.

We'll find him."

NARRATOR: Despite hope, prayer and best intentions, workers realized they were no longer engaged in a rescue operation.

Rather, they were there to clean up debris, gather crime scene evidence and recover remains.

JAMES: We were very surprised that we found the victim the following day.

By that time, we had figured out that pretty much everybody who was left there was deceased.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, victims' families were busy performing other difficult tasks.

Clarkstown Police had us come in and we gave our DNA samples, both of us.

We brought them his hairbrush, his comb, his toothbrush and so forth, and that was very helpful for them.

As soon as Pier 94 was opened, Alison and I went down together.

And even though we had no body, they issued a temporary or interim death certificate.

NARRATOR: The cause of death listed: homicide.

Most 9/11 funerals were unique in that family members were without remains to bury, cremate or otherwise respect.

To have a funeral or a memorial service without a body is very, very difficult.

It's almost like a betrayal of your loved one that you're having this, acknowledging their loss without the proof of their body, and perhaps there will never be proof.

NARRATOR: With this added heartache, families of the fallen did their best to respect their loved ones.

Sixty-six of these funerals were for workers of Sandler O'Neill and Partners, including one for Welles Remy Crowther.

On September 29th, 2001, over 1,000 people came to Grace Episcopal Church to say goodbye to Welles.

The crowd overflowed into the courtyard and street.

Welles' sister Honor shared this story during her eulogy.

Welles was, more than anything, proud of other people and he really took other people's accomplishments with greater pride than he did his own accomplishments.

And I'll never forget one night up at Boston College, Welles had a lacrosse game at six o'clock and my team had a game at eight o'clock.

And Welles' team lost, but he and a number of his teammates stayed to cheer us on, and although we lost, I scored three goals in the game.

And after my third goal, from the stands, I heard him yell down.

Sorry.

He yelled down, "That's my sister!"

And he was more excited for me than he would've been if he had scored three goals in his own game, and that was Welles.

NARRATOR: Like others who have experienced a loss, the Crowther family continues on, but with irreparably broken hearts.

For Alison, dealing with the grief involved an off chance, but relentless search.

I knew somehow I had to keep looking for Welles.

Somehow, maybe someday I would find him or something about him.

And so I watched all of the documentaries, I watched all of the news programs.

I just kept searching, looking, searching for him.

And again, I don't know what was driving me, just a mother's instinct.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, recovery efforts continued well into the spring.

NEWS REPORTER: At the World Trade Center site, a new ramp has been built to allow trucks to get to the lower levels.

Now for the first time, workers will be able to explore what is under the old earthen ramp.

New York City Fire Commissioner, Nick Scoppetta.

COMMISSIONER SCOPPETTA: That ramp is very close to covering what was one of the command centers, so it's entirely possible that there will be more recoveries.

NEWS REPORTER: Rich Lamb, WCBS 880 News.

NARRATOR: That month, Alison received a telephone call that no parent should ever receive.

So I got on the phone with the policeman and he told me that they recovered Welles' I'm sorry.

That they'd recovered Welles' body from Ground Zero and he'd positively identified him.

That was the 22nd of March.

NARRATOR: Days later, Welles' personal effects were returned.

Both of our daughters, Welles' younger siblings, right away expressed, "Thank God.

He's coming home."

He's back with us, and so I had this very deep sense of contentment that some sort of circle was completed.

What I didn't know was that his spirit was going to carry on in such a powerful way.

NARRATOR: Welles' remains were cremated, and in a private ceremony, his ashes were immured in a wall at Grace Episcopal Church, the same location where only a few months earlier he had celebrated the happy occasion of his friend's wedding.

Despite the recovery of Welles' body, Alison never gave up looking.

I just knew I had to keep searching.

Even after months, anything new came up, I would read it, I would watch it.

I just wasn't going to give up looking for him.

And it was really kind of irrational when you think about it.

Why do that?

You know?

But there was something inside of me making me do that.

NARRATOR: On May 28, 2002, the massive cleanup was completed and the last column ceremoniously removed.

Just two days earlier, the New York Times published a comprehensive story about the World Trade Center disaster entitled "Fighting to Live as the Towers Died."

I, at that point, still could not read anything or look at anything about 9/11, so I took the newspaper in, I woke my wife and I said, "Here, you may want to read this."

So when I came to the section that was entitled "9:05 in the South Tower, 78th Floor Sky Lobby," I knew if I was going to ever see anything about Welles, it would be here.

And as soon as my wife read this, she said, "This is Welles.

They're talking about Welles."

I was in the other room.

I said, you know, "How do you know?"

He was about seven or eight and we were dressing for church one day and he had a little suit on.

He said, "Daddy, can I have a handkerchief like you "in my jacket pocket?"

I said, "Sure you can."

I went into my dresser and I got him one out, and I also grabbed a red bandana.

As you've seen, I carry a blue one.

I got the red bandana and I brought it back and I said, "Now this one is for show, but the red one is for blow."

It became the tradition here at home and at the firehouse, and everywhere Welles went, he had the red bandanas and my husband had the blue bandanas.

It was a practical reason for that because the different colors helped me sort them out in the laundry, so I always knew the red ones were for Welles, but he carried a red bandana with him every single day.

JOHN: He always had this red bandana.

I'm like, nobody carried around handkerchiefs, you know?

Welles always carried a red bandana in his bag.

All the guys on a team used to give him a little grief for it, make fun of it a little bit.

He shook it off.

He always had it with him.

Even wearing a suit, he would have one in his pocket, going to work, so... And in fact, the weekend before, that Sunday before September 11th, we were going out to dinner and he pulled out of his back pocket a red bandana, right, wrapped around his comb and wallet like he always carried it.

I said, "Welles, are you still carrying that thing?

"You're just like your father."

And he just laughed, he chuckled.

I think he liked that.

And so I started reading and sure enough, there were the references by two eyewitnesses, women that had survived, that this mysterious man wearing a red handkerchief saved them.

JUDY: He had a red bandana, which he had across his face.

ALISON: And the minute I saw that, I knew.

I said, "Oh my God.

Welles, I've found you.

There you are."

I jumped up, I ran over out to Jeff and I said, "Jeff, look.

I've found Welles.

He's here.

Look."

In the article, the two individuals who talked about the man with the red bandana, one worked for Aon Insurance.

ALISON: So I had to reach out to the two women who were mentioned in the article and just make sure to confirm, that yes indeed, this was Welles.

I didn't want to, you know, live with a falsehood.

I called Aon and I said, "Here's why I'm calling.

"I think it's my son who saved her."

That afternoon Judy Wein called me back, said, "Please send me photographs."

So I sent his college picture to her.

And she said, "I'm in communication "with about 16-17 other people that were on the tower."

They had formed their own communication group.

She said, "I'll send the picture out."

She did.

Ling Young responded.

She sent me one picture, and I looked at it and I really had to study that picture very carefully.

And I say, "Yes, that is the person."

My son, Richard, make sure I got it right.

He said, "Mom, you got to make sure "because it's not something that you're going to..." I said, "Yes."

He said, "You've got to take a look at it very careful again, "make sure."

I said, "Yes."

She saw him in the stairwell.

She recognized him from the picture.

August of 2002, we invited both Judy and her husband and Ling and her family to our house.

Ling was still seriously injured.

She was in a wheelchair.

She had burns over 40 percent of her body, and Judy had recovered from her physical wounds, but it was one of the few times that Judy actually left her home in Queens.

It was an emotional meeting, okay.

And from then on we just got connected.

The two ladies were able to, in effect, fill in the blanks for us.

NARRATOR: Through their accounts and the reporting of the New York Times, they were able to piece together much of Welles' last hour.

WELLES: Mom.

This is Welles.

I want you to know that I'm okay.

JEFF: Welles came to the 78th floor, which was the sky lobby, shortly after the plane impacted the South Tower, and the left wing sliced right into the 78th floor.

Welles had all of his training and he had a red bandana, which he had tied across his nose and mouth to protect himself from the incredible dust and smoke, and he just went to work.

NARRATOR: With Welles' help, Ling Young and Judy Wein were among the 18 souls who managed to safely cross the South Tower's line of death.

So how did Welles help many of these 18 pass through the crash zone, while no one was able to descend through this area in the North Tower?

And how come so few within the South Tower used this safe passage?

For the 18 survivors, an architectural fluke in the World Trade Center's design allowed for a single escape route, and Welles had resourcefully found it.

Like most modern skyscrapers, the stairs and the elevators were placed in the center or the core of the World Trade Center towers, preserving the rest of the space or the perimeter of the space for the more valuable office uses.

When American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower, it severed all three of the tightly clustered interior stairs.

NARRATOR: With no elevator service, those in the upper levels were imprisoned in a fiery hell.

In contrast, the South Tower was struck much lower from floors 77 to 85.

Two of its stairwells were instantly severed, stairwells B and C. I started stumbling around a lot of people, and there's a lot of people who were gone and people who were crying, people who were terribly hurt, and I went to a stairwell and it just like wasn't there.

NARRATOR: However, Stairway A remained functional due to its unique design.

GERRY: Stairwell A jutted around a dozen 24-ton elevator hoists that pulled express elevators to the top.

NARRATOR: Heavy debris from the crash between floors 76 and 78 blocked it, but with some effort, those in the upper reaches of the South Tower could find salvation.

Few realize that Stairway A could lead them down to freedom.

Indeed, the 9/11 Commission Report references only one individual who spread this lifesaving information.

Welles Remy Crowther.

I got up, and I can't see, okay?

And I took off my glasses, it was filled with blood.

I started making my way to the closest stairway, emergency stairway.

I felt the doorknob.

There was nothing there but when I opened up the door, there was smoke coming out of the stairway.

It was dark, the stairway, but it wasn't enough to keep me out at that point.

And we looked around.

I said, "We can't leave," because we don't know how the floor was.

We were afraid if we just moved, the thing might collapse on us, so we just kind of sat there, waiting for help.

JEFF: Welles came out of the smoke and dust and found a group of people who were sitting on the floor.

They were afraid to move because the visibility was so bad, they thought they'd fall through a hole in the floor.

Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, a young man came over, came screaming and said, "I found the stairs.

Follow me.

Only help the one you can help."

He said it in such a way, we say, "Let's go."

When I got to-- down to the 78th floor, it appeared that the stairway ended going any further down.

At that point, I started feeling around the wall, but it was still a smoky condition, and it was hard to tell without a flashlight, but I did back myself up into a corner and I felt a doorknob.

And much to my relief, when I turned the doorknob, it opened.

Upon entering the 78th floor, I heard a man's voice.

He screamed out, "Don't take those stairs, take these stairs."

I started to run towards where I heard the voice.

When I got there, there was a young man there, and he was helping injured people and non-injured people.

He was lining them up, getting them ready to go down the staircase.

When I got to them, I just ran right by them.

According to Judy, it's the same thing with me, it's the way that he said it.

We just got up and we just follow.

He said, "Is there a fire extinguisher?"

And a man said, "Yes.

Over here on the wall."

Welles took it, went and put out a couple of fires, came back and said, "Are you ready to go?"

And they said, "Yes."

"Can someone carry the fire extinguisher?"

I picked it up.

I found out later down the road, they told me it was 25 pounds.

It didn't feel like anything at all that day.

RICHARD: I was able to go down one or two flights.

There was a wall knocked down and I started to go under the wall, and I was able to lift the wall up maybe one or two feet and it just kind of popped, and it got hung on the banister of the turn where you go down.

I went underneath at that point, and then the next floor down the wall was down far enough where I was able to jump on top of it, and I just kind of rolled to my left and then just continued going down the stairs.

In that first group, Welles had carried a young girl over his shoulder because she was in shock.

LING: I, in the same moment, I didn't know I was hurt, okay, I just went.

Welles was carrying a light-skinned black woman, I think she was skinny, if I remember correctly, and he dropped her off and said, "I'm going back upstairs."

I mean, he could have continued going down with us, but he didn't.

He decided to go back up.

At that time, Welles took the bandana off his face because he didn't need it to protect himself, and Ling was able to see his full face, which is how she was able to really completely identify him.

And he turned around and said, "I have to go back up and help others now."

Ling said, "Do I still have to carry the fire extinguisher?"

He said, "No, I don't think you'll need it."

So she put it in the stairwell.

Welles went back up.

I can tell you the fire started getting very bad.

There were beams that were just crashing down out of the walls.

It was total chaos, and the screaming and the crying was just really overwhelming.

I remember thinking, "Well, if I can stand up long enough "to breathe in the hot smoke, I'll die of smoke asphyxiation "and I won't know that I'm going to burn to death."

RON: Down was the fire, so we started climbing and looking for a way out, but all the doors seemed to be locked.

Two colleagues of mine, who I didn't know them personally at the time- turns out it was Judy Wein and Gigi Singer.

We were just all kind of talking and saying, "Which way do we go?"

And myself and one of the fellows, they said, "Well, let's go around to, say, this side."

And we started off that way, and then it was getting worse with the beams falling and the fire and all that.

And then we were told by Welles, "Get back here.

Don't go that way and go this way."

In the second group was Judy Wein, the woman who worked for Aon, and we put together the sequence of events because she remembers seeing the fire extinguisher in the corner, thinking to herself, "Well, that's a strange place for the fire extinguisher."

JUDY: And he directed people, and us, to the only open, only working staircase, the only one that went all the way down.

So we came back and went down to that area.

And we found that there was a stairwell, and it was lit.

And we just said, "Okay, this is great."

So Judy and Gigi and I, made our way down the stairwell.

As Judy was going down the stairs, she saw wave after wave, group after group of firefighters coming up the stairs, carrying their heavy equipment.

They left to keep going downstairs.

Welles went back up.

I then, I guess, started to look around and realized that the doors hadn't closed all the way.

And that maybe I could get out of the elevator.

And I started pulling, but the fire was coming up from the floor, and it's singeing my arms every time I'm trying to do this.

As I opened the door, and I look forward, what I saw was the whole floor was on fire.

The people that were in the sky lobby, most of them appeared to have been killed instantly.

There were some people who seemed to be alive.

As I'm crawling along, you're touching each body to see if the person's alive or not alive.

And that's when I met up with Kelly.

That was a miracle because there wasn't many people that made it on that floor.

There was just this guy, and I don't know who the guy is.

That was just in a doorway.

And all you heard him say was, "Over here."

The door was open, and you could see a light.

Going towards the stairwell was me, Kelly Reyher, Keating Crown, and he guided us down there.

And I don't know whatever happened to him afterwards.

I just held on to Kelly for dear life.

I held onto his belt buckle.

And we just started going down the stairs.

Got through it by just kind of calling out floor by floor, "Okay, we're at 66.

Okay, we're at 65.

"You know, only 63 more to go, 50, see how many we made?"

Floor 20, just remembered it was the 20th floor, and I just said, "I can't do this anymore," because I was hurting so bad and I stopped.

Her arms were severely burned, her face appeared to be burned.

She was limping.

Both her wrists looked to be broken.

DONNA: And Kelly just said, "Come on."

He said, "We did all these flights, you've got 20 more."

And we just, I says, Okay. And we just did it.

NARRATOR: Showing little regard for his own safety, Welles went from 104 to 78, to 61.

From 61 back up 17 flights to 78.

Down a few flights, and then back up again towards the 78th floor.

Donovan Cowan told the New York Times, "I was there about three minutes and then this guy, "I don't know who he was, he said, 'I've found a staircase.'

"He was trying to get people out."

Somebody lifted me out of there.

I got up and felt my way towards a stairwell.

And, at that point, I saw all the drywall down there was on fire.

And once I ran past that, the stairwell was clear.

NARRATOR: He eventually left the sky lobby after at least three visits, making his way down to the main lobby.

JOHN: They found him in the lobby.

My first reaction was like, "Why didn't he get out?"

NARRATOR: Welles was in the ground floor lobby of the South Tower when the building came down, just feet from safety.

Had he gotten out, Welles would have escaped from the highest floor of all survivors.

My first reaction was really selfish, I was like-because it seemed like he could have gotten out, and he chose not to.

And so from a selfish standpoint, I was kind of mad at him, you know, I wanted him to get out.

And then they said he was found with firefighters, and so kind of people started piecing it together, "Wait a minute.

They found him in the lobby.

"They found him with the firefighters.

"Well, okay, what was he doing?"

And Welles was in the lobby when the building collapsed.

He was with the battalion chief, the lieutenant, the firefighters, the other civilian.

And... he was about to go back up, and this I learned through contacts at the fire department.

He was about to go back up with the lieutenant and two firefighters, with the tools necessary to lift some of the debris that had people trapped, in order to try and extricate those victims and bring them down.

He could have left, but because of who he was, he chose to stay and we honor that decision.

You know, it's just an amazing story of sheer heroism on the part of a civilian who decided to risk his life to save people he didn't know.

We are very proud of his decision that he made as a man, and it's the price of greatness.

Just like I said to Alison and Jeff every year, I say, "You know what?

If it wasn't Welles, I won't be here.

"And from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much."

NARRATOR: No one will know the precise total, but Welles shepherded down at least 10 of the 18 survivors who escaped from the South Tower's upper reaches.

He showed bravery, selflessness and grace during a brutal time.

NARRATOR: Like all victims, Welles is remembered at various memorials.

Welles is also remembered at Empire Hook & Ladder.

This remembrance is unique because there he is joined by his teacher, mentor and friend Harry Wanamaker.

Unfortunately, Harry died in 2010 of 9/11-related illnesses.

NARRATOR: Months of physical labor on the pile eventually took its toll on Harry.

He contracted cancer from inhaling toxic fumes.

Through the years, Alison has shared her son's story of courage and selflessness to thousands of students.

These efforts eventually led her to develop the Red Bandanna Project, a character development program.

The curriculum is taught at dozens of schools, sports programs and youth groups throughout the country and uses Welles' story to teach leadership, courage and forgiveness.

Welles is remembered in another important way.

We started the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust in September of 2001 because we realized people wanted to make donations, they wanted to do something.

And we thought that we should start a foundation to honor Welles and to bring good in the community.

NARRATOR: Through various events that keep Welles' legacy alive, the trust has raised well over 1 million dollars and remains active today.

Boston College also embraces Welles.

Working with Welles' family and friends, it hosts an annual 5k Red Bandanna Run.

JEFF: I just want to thank every one of you for showing up today, supporting Welles' Trust the way you are.

When Welles was killed, we knew that in order for us to keep going forward in our lives, the only way we could do it would be by bringing some good from such a terrible evil.

NARRATOR: Finally, Boston College pays Welles one of its highest honors.

ANNOUNCER: Following a 47-year hiatus, a live eagle is brought back to campus for BC football games.

And a contest ensued in an attempt to determine a name worthy of such a prestigious bird.

Hundreds of names were submitted, and later narrowed down to the top five, which were voted on by fans.

It's with great pride that we announce the winning name is Welles.

Here to represent Welles are his parents, Jeff and Alison along with numerous members of the Crowther family.

NARRATOR: It is not surprising that his family, friends and communities continue to remember Welles.

What is surprising is the breadth, diversity and creativity of the honors from those that did not know him.

Teachers all over the country share Welles' story.

The Crowthers have received thousands of letters and drawings from grade school children from all over the United States.

The divine nature of Welles' actions has not eluded the clergy.

He said, "I found the stairs, follow me.

"And only help those you can."

And there he left this group of people there and said, "You keep going down.

"I need to go back up and get others.

"I have found the way, I know the way out.

"I know where the door is.

I know where the exit is.

"I know where eternity is."

NARRATOR: To instill his values and pass along his legacy, parents all over the United States have named their children after Welles.

NARRATOR: The folklore nature of Welles' heroics has even reached the White House.

At the National 9/11 Museum dedication ceremony, President Barack Obama spoke to dignitaries, the nation and the world about the man in the red bandana.

He put on that bandana and spent his final moments saving others.

Today, as we saw in our tour, one of his red handkerchiefs is on display in this museum.

And from this day forward, all those who come here will have a chance to know the sacrifice of a young man who-- like so many-- gave his life so others might live.

Those we lost live on in us.

In the families who love them still.

In the friends who remember them always.

And in a nation that will honor them now and forever.

NARRATOR: The measure of a man is not his longevity, but whether he made a positive difference during his lifetime.

Based upon the number of people that he saved, his courage in the face of danger and the thousands inspired by his heroics, Welles was clearly a man of extraordinary character.

After his death, the Crowthers learned something remarkable about Welles, a secret that further beautifies his saintly legacy.

JEFF: One day when I was chatting with him, and this was in August of 2001, he said, "Dad, I think I want to change careers."

I said, "Excuse me?

"You have a job that many young men your age would die for.

"You have an incredible salary, you get a great bonus."

He said, "Yeah Dad, but money's not everything.

"My life was meant for something much more important."

When I cleaned out his apartment after 9/11, I found an application for the New York City Fire Department.

It was about a half to two-thirds filled out.

So that was what his plan was.

NARRATOR: Welles' plan became official on December 15th, 2006.

On that day, the Fire Department of New York City posthumously made him an honorary firefighter in a ceremony at the FDNY headquarters.

If you go out to the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance, where all of the first responders are memorialized with a picture on the wall, on a tile, Welles is on that wall.

He's alongside the firefighters, police officers, Port Authority police officers, FBI, that gave their lives that day.

And I think that pretty much tells the story, he's with us and he'll be with us forever.

So his dream became a reality.

Official.

He was a New York City firefighter.

NARRATOR: Welles spent his last hour, his finest hour, realizing his dream.

In doing so, he followed his mind, heart and spirit.

WELLES: This is Welles, I'm okay.