Remembering The Heroes Of 9/11
We are coming up on the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This moment was a defining time in American history where sadly 2,996 individuals lost their lives that day.
Even though September 11th, 2001 was a day of fear and terror, there were heroic men and women that worked hard to serve and rescue as many people as they could that day. One of the men was known as “The Man in the Red Bandana,” and his name was Welles Crowther. Welles worked in the Twin Towers as an American Equities Trader, but he was also a volunteer firefighter.
When the plane struck the building, Welles was working above the impact area on his tower. He was able to find the only stairwell that was not blocked due to the damage and fire of the impact. Welles jumped into action allowing his training as a firefighter to take over and he demonstrated the characteristics of teamwork, courage, perseverance, love, leadership, and zest. Welles repeatedly went back into the building to save as many people as he could.
Sadly, as he was leading firefighters back to the building, in search of more people to assist, the tower and he died. What he did on 9/11 and what he died doing was incredibly heroic. He had made it out safely, he didn’t have to go back inside, but he chose to make a sacrifice to try and give other individuals a chance to live as well.
Welles was personally responsible for assisting around two-thirds of those survivors who were stranded above the impact zone. He helped a total of three separate groups of people to exit the building, and after his passing, they went to his apartment and found an application to the New York Fire Department. Welles wanted to get out of equity trading and get back to helping the community. When his story got out, the city made him an honorary firefighter, and Welles was honored as one of the 343 firefighters that died on 9/11 at the World Trade Center.
One of the other character traits that described Welles is prudence. Dr. Ross Porter created a video about Welles Crowther and how he demonstrated the character trait of prudence.
Porter describes prudence as “putting first things first.”, I think of it as doing what needs to be done, before doing what I want to get done while making sure it aligns with my goals and purpose, and that’s what Welles demonstrated that day.
Leaving A Lasting Legacy
While we never know when our time will come to an end, we can live each day to the fullest, demonstrate the characteristics we want to be remembered for and work on the important things. We can all take the lesson of living with prudence and focusing on things that need to be done, before doing what we want to do.
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As an executive coach, I can help you incorporate the character trait of prudence into your life and your company while helping you achieve your goals. To learn more, fill out our contact form today!