"Here son, I want you to have this," he said, handing two handkerchiefs - one white and one red - to his 6-year old son.
 
"What is this for?"
 
"The white one is for "show'n" and the red one is for "blow'n." The red one will make you stand out someday."
 
Fast forward almost 18 years...
 
After the horrific events of 9/11, The New York Times published survivor's accounts of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Many survivors spoke of some angel, some young man coming out of the smoke and fire on 104th floor wearing a red bandana around his face, and yelling in a calm and commanding voice,
 
"Follow me. I found the staircase. If you can help someone else, then help them."
 
A woman later recalled a young man wearing a red bandana carrying her on his back down 15 flights of stairs to a waiting elevator and then running up the staircase to retrieve others. Others spoke of the man in a red bandana directing them to safety and calming their fears.
 
From various accounts "the man in the red bandana" saved at least 12 lives on that day only to lose his as the building fell around him. The "man in the red bandana" was later found buried under 110 stories of rubble next to six New York Firefighters.
 
But who was this "man in the red bandana?"
 
Only upon reading The New York Time's interviews, family and friends of Welles Crowther had a sense that Welles was indeed the "man in the red bandana." For since the age of six, Welles had carried a red bandana - a gift from his father.  Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader, volunteer junior firefighter, and a graduate of Boston College with this whole life in front of him was indeed the man in the red bandana.
 
The tragedy of 9/11 resulted in the deaths of so many innocent people. It also opened up our eyes and hearts to the human spirit full of courage, compassion, and sacrifice in the face of danger and certain death. From the gift of a father to his son, life is saved from evil so others may live and love once more.
 
May we be inspired by Welles' last words on this upcoming anniversary of 9/11 for all the days yet to come ...
 
"If you can help someone else, then help them."
 
The Man in the Red Bandana.
 
 
P.S. Please take a few moments to view the ESPN video commemorating Welles Crowther: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6929979
 
Until Next Friday,