Note: America hails the bravery and sacrifice of all the passengers and crew of United Flight 93, along with all the other people impacted by September 11. The heroes of flight 93 have all received posthumous congressional medals of honor.Todd Beamer was selected for this feature, because his character and life, so typify that of a Hero of Christianity.

Brave Men
The brave men who who overcame the hijackers on United Flight 93, on Sept 11, 2001, were Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett,Mark Bingham and Lou Nache. They were unknown to each other at the start of that fatal flight. Their courage prevented probably a greater tragedy as they overcame the hijackers and forced the jetliner down in a field in Virginia.The cockpit voice recorder aboard the jet confirms their sacrifice. Four of these Americans were executives in the high tech industry. God surely arranged their meeting,on that United Airlines cross- country flight. Three of them, had scheduled an earlier flight to San Francisco.

The men were awarded posthumous Congressional Medals of Honor on September 26 2001.

On that fatal flight only 37 out of plane's 182 seats were filled. The passengers aboard United Flight 93 knew other planes had crashed into buildings earlier.Their plane had been delayed at the airport for 40 minutes,although it had been scheduled to take off at the same time as the airliners that crashed into the WTC Towers.

Beamer and the other men decided to act. Ten years ago, he had been a basketball guard and baseball shortstop/centerfielder at Wheaton College in Illinois.
"Good athlete with good speed, batted second for us, led off sometimes . . . a very solid leader . . . deeply religious . . . very unselfish said his old baseball coach, Ron Frank. “What he did,(on 9/11) is in total keeping with the man he was.”

Thousands Drawn to Crash Site

So many out-of-towners have been wandering around the small village of Shanksville Pa, searching for the Flight 93 crash site that a group of Shanksville volunteers formed, to lead them to the barren hilltop. and the temporory memorial. There is no viewing platform at the spot where the jetliner went down on September 11,2001, yet in the six months since the attacks, thousands have visited there. Visiters hang momentos on a 30-foot-long fence that stands near a plaque inscribed with the names of the 44 terrorist victims.At least 1,000 people come there every weekend, even during cold winter days. Volunteers stand watch at the site during daylight hours, Wednesday through Sunday. The Shanksville community is located about 80 miles east of Pittsburg. It has been proposed that a permanent memorial be built on the site. More information about the memorial can be found at the official web site at http://www.flight93memorial.org.

Held at Knifepoint

Beamer 32, computer executive, and sunday school teacher was held at knifepoint when fanatical hijackers took control of United Airlines flight 93 shortly after it took off from Newark bound for San Francisco.

The maniacs killed a passenger and injured both pilots , but 6ft tall fitness fan Todd gathered a beefy gang of passengers to hit back.

Their struggle ended with the jetliner crashing into open land in Pennsylvania, killing all on board.This was the only 'terror flight' of September 11, where no one on the ground was killed.

But they stopped it reaching its target, believed to have been the White House or Capitol building.

The story of the mid-air battle unfolded after sales executive Todd called a mobile phone operator and asked her to pass on his love to his family. His now famous last words, heard over the open mobile line, were: “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.”

The cockpit voice recorder aboard Flight 93, later confirmed their bravery.

Lisa Beamer and the Boys

Brave Lisa smiled as she told reporters how Todd would say "Let’s roll" as he gathered sons David, three, and Drew, one, for family outings.

Lisa, from Cranbury, New Jersey, then recalled: "September 11 started out as an ordinary day. Todd had a meeting in San Francisco and was getting the 8am flight."

"He got dressed quietly to avoid waking me or the kids. "

"It was usually his habit to give me a little kiss on the forehead if he left when I was asleep and I’m sure that’s how he would have said goodbye. "

Lisa Beamer: New Hero on the Horizon

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