Todd Beamer's Story and Where I Was on 9/11

Lisa Jefferson (0:00)

This is Lisa Jefferson, Shift Supervisor.

Kaye Daniels (0:02)

I understand your plane has been hijacked?

Todd Beamer (0:04)

Yes, I'm Todd Beamer. I'm on United Flight 93

Kaye Daniels (0:09)

Lisa, give me a favor.

Drew Mariani (0:11)

Of course.

Ben Ruf (0:14)

Say the Lord's Prayer with me.

Todd Beamer (0:17)

Our Father, who art in heaven, Yeah, exactly.

Miriam (0:22)

Hallow it be thy name.

Preston (0:25)

Thy kingdom come.

Ben Ruf (0:28)

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Lisa Jefferson (0:31)

Give us this day our daily bread.

Carlos (0:34)

Forgive us of our trespasses.

Miriam (0:37)

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

SPEAKER_9 (0:44)

It will deliver us from evil.

Carlos (0:46)

Oh, man, are you ready?

Preston (0:49)

Okay, let's roll.

Drew Mariani (0:51)

The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

Yeah, it's such a powerful, powerful moment. It was audio from the movie United 93 where Todd Beamer, one of the passengers who helped bring down the hijacked plane, prayed the Our Father. Nick was telling me that he had just done a Bible study on the Our Father, and I think it was days before this fateful moment. And I think there are moments as I listen to that audio there where when a person's entire life seems to converge, ultimately in a single moment. And for Todd Beamer, that moment was September 11, 2001, somewhere over Pennsylvania. Just to give you a little perspective, and Dr. Michael Pakaluk is going to be joining. We'll get his take on. He wrote a great piece. I want to fill you in on that as well. Beamer was 32 years old. He was this loving husband, father, and he was a software salesman, a Sunday school teacher. And his wife, they were, she was actually pregnant with her third child, his wife Lisa. And he boarded United Flight 93 that morning, expecting an ordinary business trip, you know. Instead within a matter of minutes, he came to the realization he'll probably never see his family again.

Can you imagine that?

And yet what struck me about Todd and his story is not the fact that he said, let's roll and they fought these terrorists. But what struck me was his composure. You just heard audio, you just heard Lisa Jefferson. She's the telephone operator who spoke with him during the hijacking. And one of the things that struck me about what she said, she later recalled that his voice was really devoid of any stress. She said that, you know, he sounded so tranquil for a moment. She actually questioned, you know, I wonder how urgent the situation really is. And just think about that, right? The airplane had been hijacked. Todd learned other planes had already struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and he understood what that meant for everyone on that craft, that the men controlling his airplane were most certainly, almost certainly on a suicide mission. So Todd and several passengers began discussing what they could do. Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett, which is another great story, and Mark Bingham, they understood that waiting meant you're going to die. You're going to die anyway. So perhaps, you know, allowing hundreds of thousands of more innocent people to die in whatever building they're going to strike. So before Todd acted, he did something profoundly revealing. And you heard him with Lisa Jefferson. He asked, would you pray with me? And they prayed the Lord's Prayer. And other passengers reportedly joined in. And Todd recited Psalm 23, one of my favorite Psalms.

I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Then we hear those words, right? They became part of American history, part of 9-11. You hear him saying, all right, you guys ready? Let's roll. And I don't think Todd Beamer suddenly became courageous at 35,000 feet. I think that courage had been forming in him for years. And I'm joined by somebody who wrote just a wonderful piece who really reflected on what prepared Todd Beamer for this moment. His name's Dr. Michael Pakaluk. And he's a professor of ethics and social philosophy at the Bush School of Business at the Catholic University of America. And I asked him to stop by to share some of his insights and reflections with us. Doctor, it's great to have you back. Good afternoon.

Michael Pakaluk (4:32)

Hi Drew, great to be on your show.

Drew Mariani (4:34)

It's such a powerful story that Todd Beamer and Burnett and all these other stories here, what those men was able to do.

Give me your perspective on this. We know what happened on the plane that day. I know Todd, he didn't have to be on that flight. He stayed later because he wanted to be with his family. It's interesting how fate somehow plays out before us. But tell me a little bit about him, about his Christian faith and the events that led up to September 11th and really what had been forming in his heart.