On Friday, September 27, 2024, Mendham High School hosted its 9th Red Bandanna game under the lights. It was a night of remembrance and reflection. As US citizens, we need to remember this day and remember all those heroes. This Red Bandanna night helps us remember all who served as first responders and the good samaritans who helped many in the weeks that followed the 9/11 tragedy. One good samaritan, Welles Crowther, age 24, was wearing a red handkerchief while giving his life helping others escape on 9/11. He inspired others like Mr. Ward, one of Mendham’s English teachers who started this Red Bandanna night, to remember Welles and the many others who risked their lives that day.
Mr. Ward first learned about Welles Crowther’s story from an ESPN special. He said, “I think it was just from studying a bunch of different supplements connected to 9-11. And somehow that one came across my desk.” The ACC segment also included the 2016 football game between Boston College and USC, which was among the earliest red bandana games. He saw Boston College had “red bandanas on their helmets, on their cleats, and the coaches’ sideline jackets.” Mr. Ward was inspired by this game and the Crowthers’ story which led him to reach out to the family.
The first Red Bandana game revolved around Mrs. Crowther’s visit to our high school in 2016. “The first Red Bandana game was against Roxbury, and it was after school. I can remember students leaving classes and going right to the football field, so it was well-attended, and Mrs. Crowther stuck around after her address to the school,” Mr. Ward exclaimed. Her presence added an elevated significance to the first game ever and we collaborated closely with Mr. Ryan from West Morris Central at the time to implement it in both schools. This ensured that when Mr. Ryan became our principal, he had a good understanding of the importance of this story. Mr. Ryan’s main focus was on making it accessible to as many students as possible. He introduced the theme “Beyond the Day”, which aimed to connect the lessons of 9-11 not only on that specific day but also on other days as well.
There’s a big poster and banner in the back of my room that says Beyond the Day,” Mr. Ward reflected. The image that is encapsulated in the photograph is a person wearing a Red Bandana wrapped around their wrist, and they’re reaching out a hand to assist someone else. Mr. Ward wants others to acknowledge the lesson from Welles Crowther: we should be proactive in helping others and not wait for a tragedy to occur before doing so. Mr. Ward reminds us that many other individuals assisted people on that fateful day. One of them is Pablo Ortiz, and the other is Frank DiMartini, who were employees at the World Trade Center. When the first tower was struck by the plane, they took immediate action, using crowbars to free around 70 individuals. Mr. Ward has their pictures displayed in his classroom, hoping that their identities will be recognized. He hopes that Welles’ story and the story of these other individuals will inspire others to uncover the names of more unsung heroes.
During this year’s game, Gregory Wiatroski, fire chief of the Mendham Fire Department and 2010 graduate of Mendham High School shared his thoughts on the significance of the event and what it means to be recognized as a firefighter on Red Bandanna Night. He expressed how meaningful it is for him and his coworkers to be acknowledged, stating, “Events like this are always special to us.”
This game serves as a continuation of the connection to 9/11. Wiatroski reflected, “Coming from the first responder community, it’s really important and nice to see that younger students, maybe who weren’t born yet, and had to learn about 9/11, continue that tradition on.” Wiatroski believes we need to foster a stronger spirit of unity, emphasizing the biggest way is the remembrance of how close the country came together after 9/11. “But I don’t think we do enough of that. I think that the country is a little divided right now.”
September 11th had a major influence on Wiatroski becoming a first responder, outside of having a large family history in the fire service. “Unfortunately it took an incident like 9/11 to kinda drive people wanting to get involved.” Witnessing others helping out inspired him to join as well. We are honored that the Mendham Fire Department joins us annually to support the Red Bandanna game and help our students see the importance of giving back to their community.
