After United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked, Beamer and other passengers communicated with people on the ground via airphones and cell phones, and learned that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been attacked using hijacked airplanes.
Beamer tried to place a credit card call through a phone located on the back of a plane seat but was routed to a customer-service representative instead, who passed him on to GTE supervisor Lisa Jefferson. Beamer reported that one passenger was killed and, later, that a flight attendant had told him the pilot and co-pilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. He was also on the phone when the plane made its turn in a southeasterly direction, a move that had him briefly panicking. Later, he told the operator that some of the plane’s passengers were planning to “jump on” the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers’ plan could be followed through. Beamer also recited The Lord’s Prayer with Jefferson. According to Jefferson, Beamer’s last audible words were “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.”
I will never forget this. This story has always stood out to me. The following year at my high school, our wrestling team used “Let’s Roll” as their motto, including having it put on their t-shirts for the team. Rest in Peace, Todd Beamer, thank you for your bravery.
