Say Their Names: The Heroes of 9/11

Every day, this channel covers New York City real estate. Today is different. On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, this is about the people who ran toward the danger when everyone else was running away. None of them had to go. All of them did. If you learn even one of these names today, it matters.

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Welles Crowther, the Man in the Red Bandana

Welles Crowther was 24 years old, an equities trader on the 104th floor of the South Tower and a volunteer firefighter since the age of 16. When the tower was struck, he guided survivors out of the 78th floor sky lobby, carried an injured woman down on his back, and then returned again and again, saving as many as 18 people before the tower fell. His remains were later found alongside firefighters. His mother learned of his heroism only when survivors described the calm young man in the red bandana who had led them to safety. This week, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Christopher Amoroso, Port Authority Police Officer

Christopher Amoroso was 29 years old, with a wife and an infant daughter, Sophia Rose. He was among the first officers on the scene. Bloodied by falling debris, he refused medical attention and kept going back in. A photograph captured him carrying a woman to safety. He re-entered the building and did not survive.

Moira Smith, NYPD Officer

Moira Smith was 38 years old, a wife and the mother of a two-year-old daughter, Patricia. She was the first officer to radio in the attack. In the last photograph ever taken of her, she is helping a bloodied survivor, Ed Nicholls, to safety. She re-entered the South Tower repeatedly, and NYPD leadership later credited her with saving hundreds of lives. She was the only female NYPD officer killed that day.

Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley Head of Security

Rick Rescorla was 62 years old, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and the head of security for Morgan Stanley. Convinced after the 1993 bombing that the towers would be attacked again, he drilled the company's employees twice a year. On September 11th, he ignored the order to stay put, used a bullhorn to lead nearly 2,700 people down the stairs, and sang to keep them calm. Nearly all of them survived. He went back up to search for stragglers and did not make it out.

Father Mychal Judge, FDNY Chaplain

Father Mychal Judge was 68 years old, the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department. He entered the North Tower alongside the firefighters, administered last rites in the lobby, and refused to leave. He was killed when the South Tower collapsed. Rescuers carried his body out in a now-iconic image, and he was designated Victim 0001, the first officially recorded death of the day.

Todd Beamer, United Flight 93

Todd Beamer was 32 years old, a husband and father with a third child on the way. After learning of the other attacks by phone, he and his fellow passengers resolved to fight back. Beamer prayed the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with a phone operator, asked her to tell his family he loved them, and then spoke the words that became a national rallying cry: "Are you guys ready? Let's roll." The passengers stormed the cockpit, and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, never reaching its target in Washington.

We Will Never Forget

A trader, a Port Authority officer, a police officer, a security chief, a chaplain, and an airline passenger. None of them had to go. All of them did. Today we remember them, and the 343 firefighters, 37 Port Authority officers, 23 police officers, and thousands of everyday people who gave everything on September 11, 2001.

Say their names. We will never forget.