GREEN RIVER — To honor the fallen heroes of 9/11, the Hastert Core of the 6th grade at Monroe Intermediate School in Green River created the Red Bandanna Project. The group read together The Man in the Red Bandanna, the story of Welles Remy Crowther written by his sister Honor Crowther Fagan and illustrated by his brother John Crowther.

Welles Crowther worked in the World Trade Center and on the day of the tragedy helped at least 12 people to safety before he lost his life when the towers collapsed. His body was eventually recovered, but his family did not know his remarkable story until they read in the paper some survivor accounts of a heroic man wearing a red bandanna who led and carried people to safety from the south tower. Welles was known for wearing a red bandanna since he was very young. He had worn it through his years as a lacrosse player in both high school and college and in his work as a volunteer firefighter. When Welles’ photograph was shown to the survivors who recounted the stories, he was identified as the hero.

6th-grade teacher Scott Taylor had seen an interview with the author of a chapter book on the subject and was touched by the author’s statement that the current generation of students was born after 9/11 and knew very little about it. He and the other teachers of the core, Rachael Condor, Tracy Clement, Lori Hastert and Dylan Burd, decided to tell the story to their kids and present them with a red bandanna. “We want the kids to use the bandanna as a reminder of the heroes of the tragedy,” Taylor said, “We hope that it will inspire them to be heroes in their daily lives, even if it is something small like helping another student.”

Monroe Intermediate School is located at 250 Monroe Avenue in Green River and educates students in 5th and 6th grades.