President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Sept. 11 rescuer Welles Crowther and announced that a new Coast Guard cutter will carry the name of firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo.
Trump made the announcements during a White House commemoration with first responders, Gold Star families and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader remembered as the "Man in the Red Bandana," helped people escape from the South Tower after it was struck. His mother, Alison, and sister, Paige, accepted the medal on his behalf.
The White House account described Crowther reaching people trapped on the 78th floor and helping lead them through smoke and destruction. He died during the rescue effort.
Trump also said the Coast Guard will commission a Fast Response Cutter in memory of Jeffrey Palazzo, an FDNY firefighter and Coast Guard reservist.
Palazzo was among the 343 New York City firefighters killed while responding at the World Trade Center. He served with Rescue Squad 5.
The ceremony included a 21-foot, 16,000-pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower. Tunnel to Towers carried the beam more than 10,500 miles during its Steel Across America tour.
The beam was displayed on the Ellipse as a memorial to those killed and to the people who took part in rescue and recovery efforts.
Trump cited the deaths of 23 New York Police Department officers, 37 Port Authority police officers, three New York court officers and 343 firefighters in the attack and response.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.
The president and Vice President JD Vance are scheduled to visit attack sites Friday, the 25th anniversary, to honor victims, responders and surviving families.
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