(PJ Media) On September 11, 2001, Welles Crowther was supposed to be trading stocks at work. Instead, the 24-year-old covered his nose and mouth with a red bandana and guided terrified people through the smoke in the World Trade Center’s South Tower. He carried a badly wounded woman on his back, helped others find a way down, then went back up to look for more survivors.
He never came home.
Crowther had trained as a volunteer firefighter, but he was working a civilian job that morning. Nobody ordered him to go back upstairs. He simply recognized people who needed help and accepted a danger that could cost him his life.
I’ve written about soldiers who made similar choices. Navigator Henry “Red” Erwin suffered horrible burns from phosphorus he carried close to his body to save his teammates. Such a sacrifice deserves our deepest gratitude, and recognizing civilian courage doesn’t diminish it.