A quarter-century after Sept. 11, 2001, the names of the terrorists have mostly faded into obscurity. But year after year, the heroes who emerged that day continue to gain recognition, even from those who were born a decade or more after 9/11.
Thanks to the stories of people like Chris Mello, a 1994 Rye High School graduate who was aboard the flight that struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower, and Welles Crowther, a Westchester native now known as “The Man in the Red Bandana,” today’s students have examples to follow, and values to uphold, from heroes who grew up close to home.
On Tuesday, Crowther posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On Friday, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, all Rye High School classes watched a video documenting his story, then walked to Nugent Stadium, where Crowther’s sister, school counselor Honor Fagan, spoke at a moving mid-morning ceremony.
“You heard how survivors of the South Tower described a man wearing a red bandana who moved through the smoke and flames, helping people find their way to safety,” said Principal Andrew Hara. “Those accounts eventually helped identify Welles as the person who helped save as many as 18 lives before the tower collapsed.”
Wearing a white shirt inscribed “For Welles,” Fagan said she’s thankful Crowther’s memory lives on as a result of his actions that day, “but the people who knew him, they know him for the heroic actions that he did all throughout his life.”
Long before sacrificing his own life to save others, Crowther, a 1995 graduate of Nyack High School, was an avid sports fan, playing soccer and lacrosse before going on to Boston College.
“Thirty years ago, in his years at high school, he would have been sitting in stands much like this on the other side of the river,” Fagan said. “He would have been playing on a field much like this, playing soccer and lacrosse, cheering on his football team.
“He was very much like you all, and I’m not just saying that. What made him special was how he treated other people.”
Fagan said she continues to hear stories of her late brother’s character, even in the moments leading up to her speech Friday. Thomas Bailey, a fifth-grade teacher at Milton Elementary School, told Fagan he was a freshman on Nyack’s varsity hockey team when Crowther was a senior.
“Mr. Bailey said he got yelled at by the coach for messing up a drill, and Welles skated over to him,” Fagan said. “In Mr. Bailey’s own words, he was the worst player on the team. And Welles said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Keep your head up, keep going.’ He didn’t need to do that, right? None of the other seniors did. Juniors didn’t, sophomores didn’t. But Welles did. Because he always thought about the other person. He was always concerned how his actions were going to positively or negatively affect somebody else.”
Before Fagan’s speech, sophomore Scarlett Plauche performed the National Anthem. Junior Rocco DeFife played taps on the trumpet. Four members of Rye’s police and fire departments were recognized on the field by Hara, who thanked the hundreds of first responders who risked their lives on 9/11.
“There are so many stories, no single ceremony can tell all of them,” Hara said. “That is one reason it’s important that we’re together today. We are here to remember, but also to recognize the extraordinary acts of courage and selflessness that emerged from one of the darkest days of our nation’s history.”
Fagan said anyone can have an impact on their community, just as Crowther did for his hometown, and eventually, the nation as a whole.
“I hope and pray that none of you are ever faced with a 9/11 or a situation of that magnitude,” she said. “But you have the opportunity to be a hero for those around you in your everyday life. Open a door for somebody. Help somebody whose hands are full. Do your homework. Do the chores your parents have asked you to do. Those little things make such a difference in the life of the people around you, and that is what Welles would have wanted.”
