KFC Radio – The Man in the Red Bandana: Welles Crowther's Story Told by His Sisters Honor & Paige

Date: September 11, 2025 Hosts: Kevin "KFC" Clancy & John "Feitelberg" Feitelberg
Guests: Honor & Paige Crowther (sisters of Welles Crowther)

Episode Overview

This special episode commemorates the 24th anniversary of 9/11 by honoring Welles Crowther, known as “The Man in the Red Bandana”—a Boston College athlete and banker who heroically saved at least 18 lives during the attacks. For the first time, Welles's sisters, Honor and Paige, join KFC Radio for an in-depth conversation that moves well beyond the well-known story, sharing intimate perspectives on Welles as a brother, son, and the legacy and impact his actions and story have had on their lives and the broader community.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Legend vs. the Brother (05:00–14:00)

• Honor and Paige reflect on the difficulty of reconciling Welles the beloved brother with Welles the icon.

  • “He has become so much more than just our brother... you have to stop and think, and, like, really pull up those memories to be like, yeah, no, he was there and, you know, it. It's. It's him.” —Honor (05:34)
  • Paige shares how surreal it feels when enormous figures (Obama, Bloomberg) reference her brother at public events.

• The anniversary of 9/11 as a day of positive remembrance:

  • “I don't see that as, like, a hard... It's actually not a hard day for me. It's like a beautiful day of celebrating Wells's life.” —Paige (07:12)

2. Wells’s Unique Place in the 9/11 Narrative (09:00–15:00)

• Welles bridges multiple identities—victim, hero, first responder, teammate—which helps his story resonate so widely:

  • “He wasn't a first responder that morning. That morning he went to work. And so he represents all the people who just went to work that day. And yet he also represents the first responders who went to work and perished.” —Honor (09:29)

• Reflections on the transcendent hope his story provides:

  • “I think that there's... especially post-9/11, everybody was looking for some kind of hope. And... to have a story like this come out, I think... gives you a little bit of hope to the human condition.” —Honor (19:25)

3. The Red Bandana—Family Quirk to Symbol (22:16–26:47)

• Personal family stories reinforce how the red bandana was a normal object in their household, before it became a symbol:
  • Paige recounts bringing her cherished red bandana to Ground Zero, even before knowing its significance:
    “Shortly after 9/11... I brought this bandana with me... for my tears, because I knew, I'm sure I'd be crying. And it just, like, I will hold, cherish this forever.” —Paige (23:28)
  • “Our dad's bandana was a part of our entire childhood... Wells had his all the time... he wore it under his helmets and stuff like that.” —Honor (26:00)

4. “Destined” or Not—Welles’s Calling (11:37–32:15)

• Welles felt called to something bigger:

  • Honor recalls a conversation with Welles about his doubts in finance and search for greater purpose:
    “He always knew, even if we didn’t know, that he was gonna do something special. He did always know. He always knew he was destined for something else, something bigger.” —Honor (30:02)

• Discussion of his application to the FDNY as evidence his heroism was no fluke:

  • “Even if this didn’t happen... he was out sick that day or just made it out... he was still filling out the paperwork to sign up to do those things.” —KFC (32:01)

5. Grief, Gratitude, and Legacy (37:47–54:53)

• How the siblings process public attention, grief, and meaning:

  • “It wasn't always, like, we weren't always able to... talk about this so freely. Have to remember it’s been 24 years.” —Paige (67:14)
  • “We generally do... things that bring meaning back to us... the other 51 weeks of the year, it's pretty... normal.” —Honor (54:07, 54:56)

• On gratitude for being able to keep the legacy alive and inspire others:

  • “It's also who we are and how we were raised to be. It’s not like Wells’s actions that day inspired us to become that way. We kind of, as a family, were sort of that way.” —Paige (37:49)

6. The Growth of the Red Bandana Tradition (43:29–53:05)

• Organic, student-driven adoption of the red bandana at BC’s annual football game—a “bucket list” American experience:

  • Paige describes how it began with BC students and then exploded nationwide with ESPN coverage:
    “It just was immediately exploded. It was so amazing. And so then the next call I get is from Boston College inviting me to fly down with... the football team.” —Paige (47:21)

• Hosts and sisters discuss the unique power of sports, and why the tradition means so much:

  • “There's just... I think there's always a fine line between, like, support and respect and honoring and maybe inserting yourself into it or, you know, exploiting and all that. You know, the privacy is not an option.” —KFC (16:05)

7. Real-Life Welles—Funny, Silly, and Typical Brother Moments (58:27–67:04)

• Paige and Honor share favorite goofy Welles moments:
  • “He opens my windows, pulled up my nightshirt and picked me out of bed and held my belly against the cold window to, like, get me out of bed.” —Paige (59:19)
  • “He would put me into all of his hockey gear... Set me up in front of an ice hockey goal in the driveway and say, 'Don't. Whatever you do, don't move.' Just don't move. And practice slap shots against me.” —Paige (59:50)
  • “He also... would disappear from a party and come walking back out with no pants on and go, ‘Has anyone seen my pants?’” —Honor (66:07)

8. Processing Grief & The Day's Meaning for the Family (67:07–76:36)

• Paige talks honestly about depression and healing after 9/11:

  • “Grief is a bitch... It didn’t hit me right away... I fell into a bit of a depression following 9/11.” —Paige (67:04–67:55)

• Honor discusses raising her own kids and how the next generation processes Welles’s story, including her children’s book:

  • “‘My Late Uncle Joe, the Man in the Red Bandana’ was written in an effort to be able to talk to her children about 9/11.” —Paige (69:44)
  • “It’s an unimaginable, a real and factual, not overly scary way of telling Wells’s story to that audience.” —Paige (70:20)

9. Faith, Fate, and the Spiritual Side of Welles’s Legacy (76:36–79:31)

• Honor recounts searching for solace at church on 9/11 and wrestling with faith:

  • “I absolutely had those kind of thoughts of, how could there be a God? ... You can't help but think, yes, this... maybe this was some grand plan after all.” —Honor (77:02)

• On “guardian angel” symbolism:

  • “One of the women that he saved, Ling Young, says that in the piece, 'he was my guardian angel.’” —Honor (79:02)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with timestamps)

• On reconciling hero vs. brother:
  “He’s become so much more than just our brother... Honestly, now I've lived more of my life without him than I did with him, unfortunately.”
  —Honor Crowther (04:44)

• On remembrance vs. private grief:
  “September 11th just happens to be a very memorable, memorable d[ate] that my brother perished... I love it. I think it’s beautiful his spirit is remembered annually by so many people.”
  —Paige Crowther (15:11, 15:31)

• Describing the moment the red bandana became a symbol:
  “I had my bandana with me that day for my tears... before we knew anything about the man in the red bandana.”
  —Paige Crowther (23:08)

• On Welles’s calling:
  “He always knew he was destined for something else, for something bigger.”
  —Honor Crowther (30:02)

• Paige on public grief:
  “It's a really supportive, wonderful group of, like, highly intelligent and capable friends of Wells's and members of our family who participate, too... there's a whole community around this with us for whom we are very grateful.”
  —Paige Crowther (72:27)

• Welles as everyday hero:
  “He never, ever wanted somebody to feel like they didn't belong. No one left behind.”
  —Honor Crowther (37:09, 37:19)

• On what people can do:
  “We raise a lot of money for children’s organizations primarily... and we have the Red Bandana 5K up in Boston at Boston College. But... for anybody who wants to run on their own... they can still register and run or walk or run, walk.”
  —Honor & Paige Crowther (73:20–74:38)

Key Timestamps/Sections

• [05:00] – Reconciling personal grief and public celebration
• [09:29] – Why Welles’s story resonates: his multiple identities
• [22:16] – The personal history of the red bandana
• [30:02] – The sense that Welles knew he was ‘meant for something’
• [47:21] – BC’s Red Bandana Game and the ESPN segment’s impact
• [59:19] – Childhood hijinks; Welles as a typical brother
• [67:04] – Processing grief and the healing journey
• [69:44] – Telling Welles’s story to children; Honor’s children’s book
• [77:02] – Spiritual undertones and “guardian angel” reflections

How Listeners Can Honor Welles’s Memory

• Red Bandana 5K: Annual run in Boston, open to in-person and virtual participants—register and participate wherever you are.
• Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust: Donations contribute directly to children's organizations and various youth charities. [Link available in episode description]
• BC Red Bandana Football Game: Marked annual event—visit, support, and experience firsthand.
• Visit the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum: Welles's story and artifacts are featured, offering education and inspiration.

Tone & Takeaways

The episode balances powerful emotions, humor, and hope, revealing not just Welles’s extraordinary final acts but also his everyday kindness and family spirit. Both sisters express deep gratitude for the ongoing remembrance of Wells, and approach their roles as stewards of his legacy with humor and grace. Their stories illuminate the transition from raw grief to sustaining hope—using Welles’s example to inspire compassion and action in others.

Memorable closing words:
“I think what you guys do and how long you've continued to do it and how much longer you're gonna have to do it... combined is its own battle. And... one that I think you guys chose to take on in the same way that he chose to take on his.”
—KFC (71:57)

For more information, event details, and links to the Trust and children’s book, see episode notes and description.

End of Summary