Congressman Lawler Honors Local 9/11 Hero Welles Crowther

By Y.M. Lowy

Last Friday, September 12, Congressman Mike Lawler joined Welles Crowther’s family and local firefighters at the Nyack Fire Department to announce that he is pushing for Crowther, the “Man in the Red Bandana,” to receive a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

Crowther, a Rockland resident and volunteer firefighter from Nyack, became a hero on September 11, 2001, when he saved many lives during the attacks on the World Trade Center, using a red bandana he had worn since childhood to protect himself while helping others escape.

Crowther’s mother, Alison Crowther, and representatives from the Nyack Fire Department and the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association joined Lawler at the press conference.

Later that day, Lawler traveled to a Yankees game with President Donald Trump and other New York officials to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11. At the game, Lawler presented Trump with a red bandana from the Crowther family to honor Welles’s heroism.