Remembering 9/11: The Hero In The Red Bandana

Just about everyone over the age of 30 remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. In fact, some of you may have even known a hero who died saving someone else on that tragic day. Their life was important. They deserve our respect and remembrance. Last year, we remembered the remarkable COL Rick Rescorla.

This year, we celebrate a hero of 9/11 whose name was unknown to those he rescued until months after that fateful day. His name was Welles Crother. According to the 911 Memorial record: 

“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 on him.

A few months after 9/11, stories from survivors surfaced about the mysterious man wearing the red bandana. When Alison Crowther read an article about the hero in the New York Times, she knew that man was her son, 24-year-old Welles Crowther. He had carried a red handkerchief since he was a boy. Welles Crowther worked as an equities trader and was also a volunteer firefighter.

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

911 Memorial

Ms. Wein is spot on. Welles’ self-sacrifice was such a priceless and rare quality. His life should never be forgotten. How can we best honor his sacrifice? In other words, what can we do to give continual merit and value to his sacrifice? 

The only way the selfless sacrifice of Mr. Welles (and the thousands who laid down their lives for our freedom throughout history) is NOT wasted—is when we ALSO live selflessly. 

My friend, through the gift of salvation, Jesus empowers us to live selflessly on a greater scale than we can imagine! He set the greatest example of self-sacrifice. In a world culture where self-preservation is highly prized, the Bible presents a greatly contrasting narrative where laying down one’s life for others holds the greatest value because it emulates our greatest Hero—Jesus Christ. He said, 

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

John 15:13

Jesus went a step further and laid down His life for even His enemies.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8

We can only sustain our ability to give selflessly if we are constantly being filled by Christ. To do this we must do the hard work to develop the mind of Christ and discipline ourselves to live in His BE-attitudes. For Christians, this isn’t optional. We are commanded:

“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Philippians 2:4-8

Such sacrifice is not merely about grand gestures, but often manifests itself in everyday acts of kindness, understanding, and patience. The best gift we can give anyone is the Gospel. The gift of salvation is an eternal gift. We must know how to share it; we must make the self-sacrificing effort to dig into the truth; we must put ourselves out there and be unafraid of getting hurt so we can give others the truth in love. 

Like Welles, we only have one life to give. Today, we remember the life of this extraordinary young man who sacrificed everything for people he didn’t even know. Remarkable, right? Today, we have the opportunity that he no longer has. We have life. We can make an eternal difference in someone else’s eternity.

Selflessness is proof of the presence of God in our life. 

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

1 John 4:7-11

‭‭“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

1 John 3:16

Christ became poor so we could possess His eternal riches.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

2 Corinthians 8:9