Bells toll for fallen firefighters

On Sunday, bells in places of worship around the nation rang to honor those firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2015 and previous years.

Before that remembrance, 112 American flags which flew over the nation's Capitol were presented to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation which had placed them on display at the Memorial Chapel in Emmitsburg, Maryland, before presenting them to the survivors during a memorial service.

In conjunction with the event, called "Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters," a bronze plaque bearing the names of the 79 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2015 was added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial. The list included the names of 22 FDNY members who died before 2015 and two who died in 2015 from 9/11-related illnesses.

The legacy of 9/11 continues to bring the brotherhood of firefighters and their communities together to honor and remember the 343 brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice that day so that others might live.

Individual events like the Sept. 11 memorial Stair Climb are held to raise funds to help programs for surviving family members of firefighters across the country. In these stadium-held events, participants climb 2,200 steps, symbolizing the 110 stories of the World Trade Center Towers, the ascent that FDNY firefighters took that morning.

More states have added their own official memorials since terrorist attacks 15 years ago, but unfortunately Pennsylvania is not one of them. It would be a worthy goal for the Keystone State to have its own memorial to fallen firefighters.

The first stanza of the firefighter's creed states:

"I am proud to be a firefighter. I revere that long line of expert firefighters who by their devotion to duty and sacrifice of self, have made it possible for me to be a member of a service honored and respected, in good times and bad, throughout the world."

No one aspired to live out those words more than Welles Crowther of Nyack, New York, who left us one of the most enduring and inspirational stories of 9/11. The Boston College graduate, then 24, was working as an equities trader on the 104th floor of the south tower when it was struck by United Airlines Flight 175.

According to survivor accounts, Crowther saved as many as 18 people that morning. After helping stranded occupants of the tower to safety, he turned around and went back inside a number of times. He was last seen in the lobby area with members of the FDNY before the south tower collapsed.

Six months later, Crowther's body was found alongside several firefighters and emergency workers in the lobby. His mother, Allison Crowther, said her son's body was found intact, with no signs of burns, leading authorities to speculate he was aiding the rescue effort as a civilian usher when the building collapsed.

The family was unaware of the exact details of Welles' activities until his mother read one survivor's firsthand account of being saved by a man wearing a red bandanna.

When Welles was 6 years old, his father gave him a red bandanna, and that became a symbol of devotion between father and son. Welles carried it everywhere.

At 16, he became a junior member of the Empire Hook and Ladder Company, joining his father as a volunteer firefighter. At Boston College, he wore his bandanna under his lacrosse helmet.

After graduating, he moved to New York City, taking a job for Sandler O'Neill at the World Trade Center. He came to dislike his desk job, however, and was entertaining a career change, hoping to land a job with the FDNY, the FBI or CIA, when this nation was attacked by the planes hijacked by terrorists.

Following his death, Crowther's parents created the Red Bandanna Project, a character development program for classrooms, sports teams, camps and youth programs. The family also established the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, which funds charitable work.

In addition, Boston College holds The Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna Run, a 5K road race, every October.

In 2006, Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York City firefighter by Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. That same year, his Boston College lacrosse teammate, Tyler Jewell, wore a red bandanna in honor of Crowther when he competed with the U.S. snowboarding team at the Winter Olympics.

Crowther's story teaches us about the human character. Tom Rinaldi, an ESPN author, told the story of Crowther's selfless deeds in his book "The Red Bandanna."

There have also been riveting documentaries, including one by ESPN which poses several eternal questions to the audience that transcend Crowther's heroic actions:

"What would you do in the last hour of your life? Would you think of yourself first or put someone else first?"

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com