The Man in the Red Bandana | SC Featured — Transcript

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1. 0:00this is Essie featured this is the power
2. 0:05of sports what would you do in the last
3. 0:20hour of your life where would you be who
4. 0:26would remember it what would it look
5. 0:29like maybe it would look like this
6. 0:38a symbol of
7. 0:41absolutely the most
8. 0:44pure form compassion
9. 0:51Oh greater love hath one and go lay down
10. 0:53his life for his fellow man it's all
11. 0:59right here in this red bandana for me
12. 1:03[Music]
13. 1:04Wells Crowther first began carrying the
14. 1:07red bandana when he was six years old
15. 1:09growing up in Nyack New York suburb
16. 1:12north of Manhattan it soon became a
17. 1:15signature than a link between father and
18. 1:17son Wells was a little boy and my
19. 1:23husband took a little white handkerchief
20. 1:25and and folded up and put it in his
21. 1:27pocket
22. 1:27and he said no Wells this white
23. 1:29handkerchief that's for show here's a
24. 1:33bandana
25. 1:34that's for blow to blow your nose so
26. 1:38from the time he was a very little boy
27. 1:40that's what he carried it mostly red
28. 1:42bandanas he loved having that red
29. 1:45bandana and he always had it with him he
30. 1:48always had it with him
31. 1:51[Music]
32. 1:54by the time Wells was in high school he
33. 1:57spent most of his time in two places on
34. 2:00the field or at the firehouse as soon as
35. 2:04he turned 16 he signed up as a junior
36. 2:07firefighter he had a great affinity for
37. 2:11it you know he loved helping people I
38. 2:13just remember a kid that was a smart kid
39. 2:17you know he was concentrating I what he
40. 2:21had to do and you could tell he kind of
41. 2:24had the right stuff you know
42. 2:26in sports wells was a leader captain on
43. 2:31the ice a top scorer on the field always
44. 2:36wearing number 19 he was a real team
45. 2:39player
46. 2:40it was his quote in his high school
47. 2:42yearbook there is no I in team
48. 2:49continue to play at Boston College a
49. 2:51Division one lacrosse player the bandana
50. 2:55always there beneath his helmet he
51. 2:59wasn't as tall and wasn't as large as a
52. 3:01lot of players certainly when he's going
53. 3:03against a lot of large defenseman at a
54. 3:05Division one level so you're talking
55. 3:07about someone that kind of went in there
56. 3:08and really had to scrap and fight for
57. 3:11everything you know well she's just
58. 3:16there for for everybody and anybody else
59. 3:18was the first guy to catch you on the
60. 3:21back if you had if you didn't have a
61. 3:22good game and always a smile after
62. 3:28graduating in 1999 wells moved to New
63. 3:31York City he took a job as an equities
64. 3:34trader for the firm Sandler onea his
65. 3:37office was on the hundred and fourth
66. 3:39floor in the South Tower of the World
67. 3:42Trade Center he always wanted to be in
68. 3:46business and he wanted to be down on
69. 3:48Wall Street so he was living his dream
70. 3:50but also there was a piece missing Wells
71. 3:53called me one day see you know dad I
72. 3:54think I want to change my career I say
73. 3:57excuse me I said I think I want to be a
74. 4:00New York City firefighter
75. 4:01he also said dad if I sit in front of
76. 4:06this computer for the rest of my life
77. 4:07I'll go crazy
78. 4:15at 8:46 a.m. on September 11th American
79. 4:20Airlines flight 11 flew into the North
80. 4:22Tower of the World Trade Center Welles
81. 4:25already at his desk in the South Tower
82. 4:28called and left a message for his mother
83. 4:31mom is this as well I want you to know
84. 4:34that I'm okay in the 78th floor sky
85. 4:39lobby of the South Tower approximately
86. 4:43two hundred people were waiting to
87. 4:44evacuate by the elevators we were just
88. 4:48chatting and next thing you know it just
89. 4:51exploded
90. 4:57902 United flight 175 hit the building
91. 5:03its wings cutting a diagonal path
92. 5:06between the 78th and 84th floors and I
93. 5:12went from one end to another I just flew
94. 5:14and when I got up I realized that I
95. 5:19can't see because my classes were filled
96. 5:22with blood and I wiped it off when I
97. 5:24wiped her I looked around oh my god
98. 5:27there's a lot of people completed it
99. 5:32severely burned and stranded amongst the
100. 5:35dying young and others still alive
101. 5:38saw no way out we looked around the
102. 5:42floor I said well we really can't move
103. 5:44because we don't know what happened
104. 5:47we're afraid that we're gonna put a take
105. 5:49a step if the whole thing's gonna sink
106. 5:52in
107. 5:55then all sudden we saw young man come
108. 5:57out of nowhere you heard this man's
109. 6:00voice eh I found this this
110. 6:04follow me only help the one that you can
111. 6:08help it's the way he said it and we just
112. 6:12got up we follow the man led young and
113. 6:17others from the sky lobby to stairway a
114. 6:19the only functional stairway left on the
115. 6:2278th floor he led them down to the 61st
116. 6:27floor where they met firefighters who
117. 6:29escorted them to working elevators on
118. 6:31the 40th floor after leading the group
119. 6:35down the man turned and headed back up
120. 6:39the stairs he said I'm going back up
121. 6:42because he know there's a lot of people
122. 6:44up there on the 78th floor that needed
123. 6:46help I mean he could have continued
124. 6:48going down with us but he didn't he
125. 6:50decided go back up
126. 6:52the man climbed 17 floors returning
127. 6:56again to the burning sky lobby there he
128. 6:59found other survivors including Judy
129. 7:02weed she does not speak publicly about
130. 7:05what happened her husband Jerry saw her
131. 7:08at the hospital later the afternoon of
132. 7:11September 11th
133. 7:13j-just come out of surgery at that point
134. 7:17she could hardly speak but she wanted to
135. 7:19tell me what had happened
136. 7:20junior said she saw a young man appear
137. 7:23out of nowhere she watched him as he
138. 7:26went around helping people putting out
139. 7:29fires and administering aid to the
140. 7:32injured and he said everyone who can
141. 7:35stand stand now if you can help others
142. 7:39do so those were his exact words as she
143. 7:43told it to me that afternoon
144. 7:47after being led safely to the stairway
145. 7:50Wien saw the man go back to the burning
146. 7:53sky lobby at 9:59 a.m. the South Tower
147. 7:59collapsed
148. 8:05I saw it
149. 8:06I was standing right here in this room
150. 8:09watching and I saw the tower of collapse
151. 8:12I thought to myself if Wells is lost I
152. 8:18literally dropped out on my knees here
153. 8:21and I said and I prayed I said dear God
154. 8:26take me now leave him here
155. 8:31take me now when I heard the news that
156. 8:35the tower come down I knew in my heart
157. 8:38of hearts that Wells was gone I can't
158. 8:41explain why other than it was just a
159. 8:43mother's heart knowing sorry
160. 8:56six months after the attacks March 19
161. 9:002002 wells his body was found in what
162. 9:03was the lobby of the South Tower next to
163. 9:07uniformed firefighters still the details
164. 9:11of his death remained a mystery that may
165. 9:15the New York Times published an account
166. 9:17from survivors inside the South Tower
167. 9:20one detail struck Wells his family
168. 9:23immediately and that was Judy witnessing
169. 9:26this mysterious man wearing a red
170. 9:28kerchief was calling out basically
171. 9:31setting up a triage the minute I saw the
172. 9:34reference to the red kerchief I went oh
173. 9:37my god Wells I found you
174. 9:41[Music]
175. 9:48alison krauss to search for confirmation
176. 9:52of what she already believed she sent
177. 9:56this photo of her son to Wien and
178. 9:58another survivor mentioned in the
179. 9:59article Lingam I looked at it very
180. 10:04carefully
181. 10:05I said yes that was him there was a no
182. 10:08question in my mind that was a beautiful
183. 10:16thing for all of us for that I finally
184. 10:22found him I finally found him and and
185. 10:26for them too that they would know who
186. 10:29this man was
187. 10:31to know that Wells and I figurative
188. 10:36sense took off the equity trainer hat
189. 10:38and put it on the table picked up his
190. 10:40helmet firefighter's helmet and went to
191. 10:43work for me that was an incredible
192. 10:48incredible thing to know
193. 10:52according to accounts from survivors
194. 10:54Wells helped to save as many as 12
195. 10:57people on September 11th in 2006 Wells
196. 11:06Crowther was posthumously named New York
197. 11:09City firefighter that same year
198. 11:17Tyler Jule wells his teammate at Boston
199. 11:19College were red bandana and his honor
200. 11:22while competing as a snowboarder in the
201. 11:25Winter Olympics for me the red bandana
202. 11:28symbolizes everything I want to be and
203. 11:31everything that Welles was you know
204. 11:33strength honor and courage
205. 11:35[Music]
206. 11:36that's a he's a true hero
207. 11:41[Music]
208. 11:45Wells is remembered by the people and
209. 11:47the places he touched at Boston College
210. 11:52in the annual red bandana run each fall
211. 11:56[Music]
212. 11:58and Nayak inside Empire hook-and-ladder
213. 12:02his picture is the last image
214. 12:04firefighters see before they answer a
215. 12:06call in New Jersey and a photo inside
216. 12:11the living room of a woman he saved
217. 12:16without him I wouldn't be here he saved
218. 12:22my life and he always be with my heart
219. 12:26and always be with me
220. 12:30unfortunately Alison has to lose him to
221. 12:33save me I still weep every day for my
222. 12:37son he was my best friend I was his best
223. 12:42friend at some point of every day
224. 12:46sometimes still morning when I'm shaving
225. 12:48I'm standing further mirror and I have a
226. 12:5219 that's tap tattooed over my heart and
227. 12:56I'm looking at that 19 and the memories
228. 13:01just come flooding back but really I
229. 13:06just weep through a loss of his company
230. 13:09he was just such a wonderful friend
231. 13:12[Music]
232. 13:15what would you do in the last hour of
233. 13:18your life where would you be who would
234. 13:22remember it what would it look like
235. 13:26maybe it wouldn't look anything like
236. 13:28loss but would be the threat of legacy
237. 13:31and the color of Honor
238. 13:36[Music]
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