Precisely at 9:27 AM, the Middle Eastern men arose from their seats to
launch their well-honed plan to commandeer United Airlines flight 93.
Killing passenger Mark Rothenberg in seat B5, they forced their way into
the cockpit.
Shortly after gruesome screams of "Get out of here!" were heard, the
hijackers assumed the controls of the Boeing 757, cruising in the
airspace near Cleveland, Ohio.
At 9:38 the aircraft executed a U-turn and headed towards its new
destination: the White House, located less than 60 minutes to the
southeast.
Over the next 25 minutes, there would be many tales of faith and
courage. But as Jere Longman has documented in his book, Among the
Heroes, none of these stories could surpass the valor of four men:
Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett, Richard Guadagno, and Todd Beamer.
Jeremy Glick was an all-around natural athlete. In 1993 he had won the
national judo championship. Positioned in the back of the plane, Jeremy
telephoned his wife Lyz at 9:37. He said that he and three other guys
were thinking about attacking the hijackers. His last words to her were,
"Okay, stay on the phone, I'll be right back."
Who were the three other guys?
One of them was Tom Burnett, a former star high school quarterback. At
9:27 he called his wife Deena on his cell phone. As she began to recount
the unfolding events at the World Trade Center that September 11, the
sinister intentions of the terrorists became clear. Tom told his wife
they were hatching a plan, and added, "If they're going to crash this
plane into the ground, we're going to have to do something.It's up to
us. I think we can do it."
Richard Guadagno was certainly involved in the counter-attack. A federal
law enforcement officer, he had received training how to respond to a
hijacking. The night before, he had packed a small pickax into the bag
that he would carry on board Flight 93.
Todd Beamer, who had once aspired to play Major league ball, was now a
father of two boys. At home he had a pet saying. When it was time for
his boys to go outside, Todd would exhort them with the call of "Let's
roll."
At 9:45, Beamer reached for the Airfone, dialed "0," and was connected
to the GTE operator. When he explained their plan to jump the hijackers,
the operator asked him whether he was certain. Beamer answered, "At this
point, I don't have much choice. I'm going to have to go out on faith."
Seven minutes later the insurrection began. Beamer stopped his
conversation with the GTE operator and uttered the war cry, "You ready?
Okay, let's roll!"
Hearing a ruckus in the first class area, one of the hijackers in the
cockpit asked what was going on. "Fighting," came the response.
By 9:58, the men had reached the cockpit door and began shouting, "In
the cockpit, in the cockpit." One man yelled "Hold." Another screamed in
English, "Stop him."
At ten o'clock the pilot began to sharply rock the aircraft's wings,
hoping to confuse and dislodge the counter-attackers.
A final rushing sound could be heard on the cockpit recorder. And then
dead silence. It was three minutes after ten.
We will never know exactly how many passengers arose from their seats to
overpower the hijackers. In addition to Glick, Burnett, Guadagno, and
Beamer, other likely men were Mark Bingham, a former rugby player, and
Louis Nacke, a guy with a weight-lifter's physique who reportedly would
never back down from anyone.
The fiery demise of Flight 93 outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania gives
reassurance that in these politically-correct times, the warrior heart
still beats steady and strong. Male derring-do may have gone underground,
but is still very much alive and well. But three years later, the
bravery of these men remains unheralded.
I dedicate this essay to Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett, Richard Guadagno,
Todd Beamer, and to the other men who won that first fight in the modern
war against terrorism. Thanks to you, our nation's White House, a
worldwide symbol of freedom and democracy, still stands today.
