Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 9/11 Hero Welles Crowther

President Trump announced on May 22, 2026, that he will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Remy Crowther, the 24-year-old equities trader remembered as the Man in the Red Bandana for guiding people out of the burning South Tower on September 11, 2001.

The announcement came during a campaign rally for Rep. Mike Lawler at Rockland Community College. Trump said the decision followed requests from Lawler and others ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

Crowther worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower. After the first plane struck the North Tower, he left his mother a voicemail saying he was safe, then made at least three trips to the sky lobby to lead people through smoke and debris. Survivors described a man wearing a red bandana over his face who directed them to exits.

Some accounts credit him with saving as many as 18 lives before the tower collapsed. His body was later recovered from the rubble. The red bandana he used is now displayed at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Alison Crowther, Welles Crowther's mother, addressed the crowd after the announcement. She called the award a huge honor and said her son's story continues to move children she meets during travels that have taken her as far as Jordan. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation noted that Crowther kept the bandana at his desk because his father had told him to carry one for messy jobs.

" — President Trump, May 22, 2026 (New York Post) >"It's such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles' light still shines brightly.