It was a beautiful autumn morning, much like the one six years ago when Welles Remy Crowther, BC '99, lost his life in the World Trade Center attacks. On Saturday, while most of the Boston College community still slept, more than 250 students, neighbors, and friends gathered outside Gasson Hall at the third annual Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna 5K Run to commemorate his life.
"I know he's looking down," said his father, Jefferson Crowther. "He'd be proud today," he said, visibly moved.
Crowther graduated from BC with a degree in economics. While in school, he was a four-year member of the men's varsity lacrosse team and was also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a program at BC that worked with underprivileged children in the Boston area.
"It's great to see all these people who made it out," said Kevin DiCesare, A&S '11. He, like many others, had heard of Welles' story and came down to show his support.
Out of those who showed up, some came just to run. Others knew the family personally or the people involved in the attacks that day. As they stood together at the starting line that morning, it brought Jefferson to tears.
"To us, it's an affirmation of the incredible giving spirit that you find at BC," Jefferson said.
The race course ran down Commonwealth Avenue to Cleveland Circle and back up Beacon Street and around the BC campus. Runners finishing the race ran down Linden Lane and were greeted by Welles' mother, Alison, waving a gigantic flag.
"You get down there and see all the other people and they're so energetic," said Andrew Orr, A&S '11. "I wasn't really expecting this many people - it's incredible."
Participants raised nearly $25,000 for the Crowther Charitable Trust. The trust was established by the Crowther family to honor and keep their son's memory alive through good works benefiting young people. The trust supports other nonprofit organizations that benefit young people through annual gifts and special awards.
"He had a big heart," said Alison. "It always struck me how seriously he took responsibility."
After graduating from BC, Welles joined the investment banking firm Sandler O'Neill and Partners, which had an office on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Just weeks before the attacks, his parents remember him wanting to change careers. After years of investment banking, Welles, who had been a member of the Empire Hook & Ladder Co. of Upper Nyack, N.Y., since the age of 16, wanted to join the Fire Department of New York.
On the morning of Sept. 11, Welles was known to be in his office at approximately 9 a.m. Several survivors who were on the 78th floor when the plane hit describe their savior as a man who appeared out of nowhere, with only a red bandanna over his mouth and nose.
The man began directing rescue efforts well above the reach of firefighters and rescue workers, and carrying people to safety. He was identified months later as Welles. The fact that there are eyewitnesses to tell their tales is a sheer testament to the bravery and courage that Welles displayed every day of his life.
Several years after his death, his parents, who both still reside in Nyack, N.Y., learned that Welles and members of FDNY had been on their way back up the South Tower with equipment to help cut around some of the debris trapping victims on the upper floors of the building when the tower collapsed.
On Dec. 15, 2006, Welles became the first civilian in the history of the FDNY to be named an honorary firefighter. They might as well have removed the "honorary" title from the award, however, because that day he truly was one of New York's bravest.
"He would not let go," Jefferson said. "He wasn't going to give up. It was that tenacity and selflessness that enabled him to do what he did in the last hour of his life."
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