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00:03So I have the distinct honor you know back in January we came here a group of
00:09us and we asked the president if we'll be able to do this here and the meaning
00:12of it and it was so important in two minutes he said yes. So I can't thank you
00:18enough Mr. President. Also we have a special gift for you we have a piece an
00:24American flag here and in that flag it has 9-11 steel in it from the South
00:30Tower and and we want to we're gonna give this to the president when he when
00:35he comes up. So ladies and gentlemen the 45th and 47th president of the United
00:41States Donald J. Trump. Thank you. God bless you.
01:48Well, thank you very much.
01:49It's a great honor.
01:50Frank has been something very special.
01:54You know, he's very persistent.
01:55When he wants something, he gets it.
01:58And I figured I shouldn't wait.
01:59I should just approve it all immediately, because it's much easier that way.
02:05But he's done some job.
02:06And I want to thank you all for being here in the heart of our nation's capital, which
02:11is right now one of the safest cities anywhere in the country.
02:15It was one of the most unsafe cities in the country just almost two years ago.
02:21We've cleaned it up in a lot of ways, including crime.
02:25But we've also cleaned it physically.
02:27It looks so beautiful now.
02:29We did 81 monuments, statues, and fountains.
02:33All they're back in shape.
02:35Some of them haven't worked in 45 years.
02:38But the nation's capital, it marks 25 years since a day that was etched forever into the memories
02:45of Americans.
02:47On 9-11, nearly 3,000 precious souls were stolen from us, killed by evil terrorists at the World
02:54Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on Flight 93.
02:59All of these years later, we gather on another Tuesday morning in September to reaffirm the sacred
03:05vow we made a quarter of a century ago.
03:09We will never forget.
03:11We say it and we mean it.
03:13We will never forget.
03:15Those we lost, and we will never forget, the immortal heroes of September 11, 2001.
03:23And I will tell you, we're right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted
03:31a nuclear weapon.
03:33They were very close to getting it.
03:36And now they have no chance at getting it.
03:38They will never have a nuclear weapon.
03:41Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
03:51And they've been punished greatly.
03:53As you know, we've really taken it to them.
03:57I want to compliment our military.
03:59The job they do is unbelievable.
04:01The blockade has been so powerful, so effective.
04:06Nobody thought it could go so well.
04:08I want to just thank our military.
04:10I want to also thank the man who I just said hello, who introduced me.
04:15He's a special guy.
04:16He really is.
04:17He's done so much to help the families of 9-11, first responders, and our great veterans.
04:23And that's Frank Siller.
04:24He really is.
04:25He's a fantastic man.
04:26And he's a great friend.
04:30Now, we all know the story of his wonderful brother, Stephen.
04:35And we know it well, how brave he was going into the center, probably knowing that it was
04:41coming down.
04:43He didn't care.
04:44It was an amazing act of bravery.
04:45I also want to recognize Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who lost his brother and 658
04:53employees.
04:54He was the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the most successful firms on Wall Street.
04:59They were the top three floors of the World Trade Center.
05:02It's an amazing story.
05:03You know, Howard was always there at 6 o'clock in the morning, always, without fail, because
05:09in that business, you get there nice and early, the financial business.
05:12He was one of the biggest anywhere in the world at finance.
05:17Cantor Fitzgerald was one of the hottest firms.
05:19And for years, he'd be there at 6 in the morning.
05:22But he had a child, and his wife would always be screaming at him, you never have taken our
05:28child to school.
05:29You've got to take, someday, you've got to take.
05:31And this went on for years.
05:33After four years, he said, all right, I'll take him to school.
05:37I'm going to bring him to school myself.
05:39He wasn't so happy about it.
05:41But he brought that beautiful boy, who's now a grown person, brought him to school.
05:46And he arrived at the school at 8.30, and he was on the West Side Highway at 8.45.
05:54And he watched that whole thing.
05:57This was the first time in years that he wasn't there early in the morning.
06:01So you could say he owes a lot to his son, and he owes a lot to his wife.
06:06But he brought his son to school.
06:09And because of that, he got to see it from the West Side Highway.
06:13He saw the planes go into the towers.
06:15And he said, oh, my God, my people, my people.
06:18And he's done an amazing job.
06:20He's rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald, and he's given much of the profit to some of the families
06:26or the families of the people who perished.
06:30They all died.
06:31658 employees that started the firm all over again.
06:35So Howard's here someplace, I think.
06:37Howard?
06:41Where are you, Howard?
06:42You deserve to stand up, Howard.
06:48He's got some faults, but overall, he's excellent.
06:53He's a great guy.
06:54No, he went through a lot, didn't he?
06:56Had to build.
06:56Who could do that?
06:57And now the firm is bigger, stronger, better than it was even at the beginning.
07:01The job he did, he's Secretary of Commerce.
07:03He's been fantastic.
07:05Thanks, as well, to Attorney General Todd Blanche, who's doing a phenomenal job, wherever
07:10you may be.
07:11Hi, Todd.
07:12And Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, 92 percent approval.
07:17You have a 92 percent approval rating, Doug.
07:20Stand up, you two guys.
07:22I want to make sure that Todd gets a 95 percent approval.
07:26Maybe 100.
07:27How about 100 percent?
07:30Secretary of Homeland Security, Mark Wayne Mullen, who has really taken over and
07:34done a job that's been great.
07:36Thank you very much, Mark Wayne.
07:39One of our real superstars, EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin.
07:44He gets it approved, and he gets it approved fast.
07:47They like you, Lee.
07:49Done great.
07:50An MVP.
07:52The OMB Director, Russ Vaught, who is watching the costs, and he's watching them better than
07:58anybody knows.
07:59He knows more about that than anybody, along with Representatives Mike Lawler.
08:04They call him Mr. Salt, Mike Lawler.
08:07Stand up, Mike.
08:08Dan Muser.
08:10And we have other congressmen and senators.
08:12I just want to thank you all for being here.
08:14Too many to mention.
08:15But thank you.
08:16These two guys have been very special.
08:18In the course of history, there are a few moments that divide time into really what came before.
08:26When you look at what took place that day, nobody will ever even think of such a thing
08:34being able to happen again.
08:36And we're going to do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't.
08:39That was a day like no other.
08:43September 11th was one of those moments in time where you always, everybody knows exactly
08:48where they were.
08:49I know exactly where I was.
08:51I was watching and looking, and it was a beautiful, beautiful morning.
08:57And I looked out, and then all of a sudden, I saw an alert on television.
09:01I looked out my window, and I saw things that I never want to see again.
09:04We're never going to see them again.
09:06But in just over 100 minutes, 175,000 tons of steel and concrete were reduced to ruin,
09:13and 3,000 lives were extinguished, immediately extinguished.
09:18The world we knew and the nation that we loved had changed.
09:22I said it to myself.
09:24And I looked, and I said, wow, the world has changed forever.
09:29So many things have changed because of that day.
09:31Yet, this battered piece of steel here today on the ellipse is a reminder that America is
09:37blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy.
09:44For three months after September 11th, the flames raged in the rubble of Ground Zero.
09:50For nine months, rescue and recovery crews worked day and night on the site.
09:56I want to just thank my people.
09:57I took a lot of my—I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew
10:02down there right after this happened, and they were—they had no hesitation.
10:07Everybody went down with me.
10:08We went down as a big group of people.
10:11It wasn't too much we could do, I'll be honest.
10:13It was—it was raw.
10:15Nobody's seen anything like it, ever.
10:18We had other buildings.
10:19The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking.
10:22And we thought it was going to fall down.
10:24The truth is, it creaked a lot, it creaked, it still creaks, but it never came down.
10:32And I'll never forget, two firemen, we thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen,
10:38big, strong guys—and I'm not the smallest guy in the world—they grabbed me under the arms,
10:43they said, got to get out of here, and they literally lifted me up.
10:46This is not easy to do.
10:48I'm big.
10:50They lifted me up, and they started running with me.
10:52I said, fellas, I can run myself.
10:54But they were amazing, but they thought it was coming down.
10:57It didn't come down, U.S. Steel.
11:00The 16,000-pound beam lifted from the wreckage of the South Tower will forever testify to the
11:07courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland struck,
11:12our towers knocked down, and stood back up stronger, more determined, and more united than ever before.
11:18And I'll tell you, I have to give New York a whole lot of praise, because they started that,
11:26you call it demolition.
11:27The demolition had taken place, but you call it demolition.
11:30They had the best demolition contractors anywhere in the world.
11:33I know all of them from being in the business.
11:36And I've never seen such an unbelievable mass of steel and, unfortunately, bodies and everything
11:43you can imagine.
11:45The job they did on cleaning up the site, they wanted to do it fast.
11:49They wanted to get it done.
11:51And I don't think there's any other place in the world that could have done the job that
11:56was done by the people, the construction workers, demolition experts, the police, the military.
12:02Nobody could have done the job that was done on getting it started.
12:06And the first thing to get it started, they had to clean it up.
12:09And this was a — it looked like it was a mile high.
12:13The rubble looked like it was a mile high.
12:16That's a piece of it.
12:18When we see this deal, we're reminded that no matter what threat or challenge comes our way,
12:23America will fight, America will endure, and America will prevail.
12:27And nothing can keep our country down.
12:30And our country is stronger today than it's ever been before.
12:33We have the highest stock market that we've ever had.
12:36We have the most people working that we've ever had.
12:38We've never had employment like it is right now.
12:41We have the most people working today that we ever had.
12:44And when you looked at something that took place on September 11th, you'd say,
12:49I wonder if we could ever get back to a level of greatness.
12:52Well, we've done it.
12:53For the past few months, Tunnels to Towers has taken this deal across the nation to
12:58remind Americans of what we overcame that day and what our heroes did.
13:04And on September 11th, 23 members of the New York Police Department, 37 members of the Port
13:09Authority Police, three court officers, and 343 members of the New York Fire Department made the
13:17ultimate sacrifice.
13:18And they knew what they were getting into.
13:21They saw it.
13:22They knew what was going to happen.
13:23They were running up those stairs and they knew what was going to happen.
13:27There wasn't one of them that thought otherwise.
13:30The bravery is really incredible.
13:33But their photos are all around us today of these incredible people, men and women,
13:40but just incredible, brave people.
13:42You never know about bravery until you really test it.
13:45You don't know.
13:47We're deeply honored to be joined this morning by more than 150
13:51first responders from New York, along with dozens more from Washington, D.C.,
13:56Arlington, and Pennsylvania, who carry on the mission of their fallen comrades.
14:01I've been to all three.
14:03I speak to all three on every — we pick one or sometimes two, and we speak on that very
14:10special day.
14:11And we're also joined by more than 200 proud members of the United States military who were there
14:17and some were not there and some are here just because they want to honor the people that were.
14:22Would you all stand up, please?
14:25Everybody, please stand up.
14:28That's great.
14:29Anybody that was there.
14:32Great.
14:33Thank you very much.
14:35Thank you very much.
14:37But these are the men and women who lifted our country from the rubble.
14:41Every day they go to work knowing that they might not come home.
14:45Think of it.
14:46For 25 years, since 9-11, and they've kept us safe and free.
14:51And we thank you and we salute you.
14:53Our law enforcement is so incredible.
14:56Our law enforcement holds our country together in light of some threats.
15:00We have some very real threats right now.
15:02We have people that want to go a different way.
15:04They want to go a communistic way.
15:05Well, that's not going to work.
15:07Number one, we're not going to let it happen, but that's not going to work.
15:11One New York firefighter at Ground Zero was Jeffrey Palazzo,
15:15a member of the Elite Rescue Squad 5 from Staten Island, a place I love Staten Island,
15:21and a U.S. Coast Guard reservist.
15:24Before September 11th, he had already saved many lives.
15:29That day, he had 10 other members of the Rescue Squad.
15:33That's what he did.
15:34He rescued people.
15:35And he was a legend before September 11th.
15:40But him and the other members of Rescue Squad 5 died at the World Trade Center while fighting to
15:47rescue fellow New Yorkers.
15:48And today, I'm proud to announce that this weekend in New York, the Coast Guard will commission a
15:55brand-new, beautiful — I bought it myself.
15:57I've negotiated the price.
15:59It was very expensive.
16:01I didn't want to negotiate too hard in honor of him.
16:05But a brand-new Coast Guard will — they're going to commission a beautiful brand-new fast — it's called
16:11Fast Response Cutter, the most incredible kind of ship you'll ever see.
16:17It can go through anything.
16:18They go out into waves that are five times bigger than it, and they come back.
16:24I don't know how they do it, but they come back.
16:26But this is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Jeffrey Palazzo.
16:32So we honor him with this very important tribute to me — very important.
16:37Where is the family?
16:38The family?
16:40The Palazzo family is here.
16:46Thank you very much.
16:48Incredible.
16:50Today, we also remember another hero of 9-11.
16:53After the plane hit the South Tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with
16:59broken bones, charred skin, and eyes and lungs filled with black smoke.
17:04Death was all about them.
17:06It was certain.
17:07They were sure they were going to die.
17:09Then suddenly, a rescuer appeared.
17:11They call him the man in the red bandana.
17:15Have you heard that term?
17:16The man in the red bandana has become more famous than me.
17:19I don't like it.
17:21Very unhappy, but he's become much more famous than me.
17:25No, he's the man in the red bandana.
17:27He had found the only stairwell that barely survived.
17:32The stairwells were all knocked down.
17:34You couldn't get by impassable.
17:37He found an opening in one of the stairwells.
17:41The impact was so great, there was no other way down.
17:44But this one little opening, this one little hole,
17:47and traveled down from the 104th floor to look for those trapped and dying.
17:53When he heard cries for help on the 78th floor, he began extinguishing the fires,
17:59blocking the exit, directing survivors who could walk, of which there weren't that many.
18:04He helped some out physically.
18:06They literally pulled them out toward the only working stairwell and carried those who couldn't walk.
18:12And he just did things that people said were not even imaginable because they knew they were dead.
18:18They said, we're goners.
18:20One guy was screaming, we're goners, we're goners.
18:23He didn't know that those he helped and nor who would have known.
18:29But he willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, up and down,
18:34over and over again, saving life after life.
18:37That rescuer was a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Rockland County
18:44named Wells Crowther. And Wells' father, also a firefighter, great firefighter,
18:52had given him that bandana as a very special tribute. When he was a boy, he probably knew
18:57something about his son. When asked why he always kept it, Wells replied, with this red bandana,
19:04I'm going to change the world. I'm going to change the world with this bandana.
19:09And little did he know on September 11th, Wells saved many, many people before losing his own
19:15life in the South Tower lobby when the building came down. He was in the lobby
19:22and that building came down thousands of tons of steel.
19:26Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that
19:33day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, highest civilian honor,
19:42the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We want to award that to Wells and Wells' family. Wells is up there
19:51looking down at his mom and his sister's family. So I would ask his mother, Alison, and sister, Paige.
20:00Paige and Alison came up. We will present them with not only the medal, but we'll also present them
20:06with a very important designation. Very, very important. Please.
21:31Thank you so very much, Mr. President, for this enormous honor that you've bestowed
21:37upon my son, Wells, in remembrance of his selfless actions on September 11th.
21:43This means the world to me, my daughters, Paige, and honor, and our entire family.
21:48This will be treasured for generations to come.
21:52Over the years, we have been blessed by the love and support of family and friends, many of whom are
21:58with us this morning.
22:00I would also like to thank Rachel Ducey, whose concept it was to prepare a proposal to bring
22:07to the president for this honor, and for Congressman Mike Lawler, who did so much to keep the energy
22:15going and bring it to the attention of the president.
22:19Really, thank you.
22:24Walking into this site and seeing all the faces of the firefighters lost is really just so powerful
22:33and moving.
22:34And the work that the Siller Institute does through Tunnel to Towers is so important to keep
22:42knowledge going of what happened on September 11th.
22:46So we really, we salute you, Frank, and your organization for this great work.
22:52That Wells' light still shines brilliantly today, even after 25 years, is testament to his legacy
22:59of courage, compassion, and love for humanity that continues to inspire and uplift others.
23:07Wells, however, would not have been able to do what he did as effectively on 9-11 if it had
23:12not been for
23:13the training and experience he gained as a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 of Upper Nyack.
23:20Empire is a volunteer company, and the members are fully trained firefighters.
23:24They have other jobs and responsibilities, businesses to run, and their own families.
23:31But when the alarm goes off at any time, day or night, they respond to the call to save life
23:36and property.
23:38This is a calling. And Wells, following in the footsteps of his father, Jefferson, joined Empire at the age of
23:4516.
23:47He was no longer an equities trader on 9-11. He was a firefighter.
23:53Members of Empire Hook and Ladder Company have joined us today, and I would like to recognize and thank them.
23:58If you would please stand where you are. There they are. Wonderful. Thank you, gentlemen.
24:06Such a support.
24:09My family has grown over the years. Not only my own family, but the family of friends.
24:15Wells grew up with Boston College friends and the fire department. We're all like one big family,
24:21and it's such a beautiful thing. Wells continued his spiritual growth in service at Boston College,
24:27whose motto is men and women for others. In the months that followed 9-11, we established the
24:33Wells Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and continue with our work today, both charitable and educational.
24:41Over 10 years working with a team of distinguished educators led by Vernoy Paolini,
24:46the Red Bandana Project was created. Social and emotional learning lessons on leadership,
24:53caring for others, team, the power of one, bridging divides, forgiveness, and carpe diem were the
25:00subjects for elementary through high school students. This year, the Red Bandana Project has been updated
25:07and digitized by Dr. Kevin Holbrook, who is here today as well. Thank you, Dr. Holbrook.
25:17These lessons are available for downloading free of charge on our website, wellscrowthertrust.org.
25:24As I travel around the United States speaking at schools, I see firsthand how young people are
25:29impacted and inspired by Wells, his example and legacy, to be better, kinder, and more caring of
25:37others. 25 years after September 11th, his life continues to remind us of something very simple.
25:44In moments when others need us, each of us has the power to choose courage, compassion, and service.
25:53That's the real meaning of the Red Bandana, to be courageous, to find the good, to be the good.
26:01Again, thank you, Mr. President. We are profoundly grateful for your very special honor of Wells.
26:07Thank you very much.
26:30So, a while ago, years, I promised mom and sister that Wells was going to get
26:40the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And we didn't forget. So, we didn't forget. We never forget.
26:48So, it's good. And really deserves it.
26:51Again, this has been an honor to be involved with Frank and the whole group that does such an
26:56incredible job of helping so many people. And it's very special. On the ellipse, very few things are
27:02allowed to be touched. I don't know if you know, this is very important soil. They don't allow things
27:07like this to happen except for very special events. And this is a, to me, this is a very special
27:13event,
27:13Frank. And the job you've done is great. The job your people have done is amazing. And even the
27:19proficiency, they were saying how well everything was run. And it has been. And you even worked out
27:24great weather. I think Wells gave us the weather, right? Wells is looking down. He gave us the weather.
27:29So, I just want to end by saying, God bless you. Our country is
27:34bigger, better, stronger than ever before. We have a great country. We're going to keep it that way.
27:38And we appreciate it. It's my honor to be with you. And we'll see you again soon. Congratulations.
27:45Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.