September 11th is more than a day of National photos. More than our collective pain and memories, All of us were affected personally and as a nation. September 11th is a time we pulled together. We can look at Memorials and Buildings and discussions, but even as a whole - we are a body of individuals.
Each window of the World Trade Center had a someone loved with a voice, a heart, a soul.
Seeing the joy of Todd Beamer is understanding again all the unique and loved people on the airplanes and the World Trade Towers. His story is the collective for all of the brave men and women.
Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can't speak very loud. This is an emergency. I'm a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?
Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?
Todd: No
Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?
Todd: There are three that we know of.
Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?
Todd: Yes…. they don't have guns….they have knives they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?
Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.
Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?
Todd: No…..I don't know. They sound like they're from the mid-east.
Lisa: Have they said what they want?
Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.
He said that they were meeting these men's demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I'm telling you…it sounded fake!
Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.
Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.
Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can't remember, it's on your ticket.
Todd: It's United Flight 93.
Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?
Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He's got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?
Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.
Lisa: Has anyone been injured?
Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There's been lots of shouting. We don't know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.
Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?
Todd: He's near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn't noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!
Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what's happening!
Todd: Hello…..We're going down….I think we're going to crash……Wait wait a minute. No, we're leveling off….we're ok. I think we may be turning around…..That's it we changed directions. Do you hear me….we're flying east again.
Lisa: Ok Todd…. What's going on with the other passengers?
Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??
Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it's very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.
Todd: Oh God help us!
Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I'm afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?
Lisa: I'll try….if I can….Yes.
Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what's happened. Promise me you'll call..
Lisa: I promise I'll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We've been married for 10 years. She's pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I'll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he's 3 and Andrew, he's 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultrasound…..it was great….we still don't know if it's a girl or a boy………Lisa?
Lisa: (barely able to speak) I'll tell them, I promise Todd.
Todd: I'm going back to the group if I can get back I will…
Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……
Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I'm a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes, I'll hold.
Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?
Lisa: Yes sir, I've been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.
Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?
Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course it is now flying east.
Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the plane's phone?
Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..
Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?
Lisa: Yes, I'm here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.
Todd: The others all know that this isn't your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.
Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capitol Building.
Todd: I understand…hold on……I'll…….I'll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?
Goodwin: Not long ma'am. They changed course over Cleveland; they're approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington maybe twenty minutes away.
Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It's getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We're not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers' suicidal plot.
Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?
Todd: We've hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we'll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We'll get them….and we'll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?
Lisa: Yes…What is it?
Todd: Would you pray with me?
They pray: Our Father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…..
Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let's Roll……………………
Todd's daughter, born after September 11th. Morgan.
One of the most forlorn passages in Scriptures:
Psalm 103:16
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
Like Billy Graham, the Bible, The Word of the Lord, is not going to leave us in a place of remorse and loss.
Psalm 103
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all His kind deeds—
He who forgives all your iniquities
and heals all your diseases
Who redeems your life from the Pit
and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,
Who satisfies you with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executes righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He will not always accuse us,
nor harbor His anger forever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
when the wind passes over, it vanishes,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the loving devotion of the LORD
extends to those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to their children’s children—
to those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.
The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
and His kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength
who carry out His word,
who hearken to the voice of His command.
Bless the LORD, all His hosts,
you servants who do His will.
Bless the LORD, all His works
in all places of His dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Amos 5:24
Let justice roll on like a river,
and righteousness as a mighty stream
Nasa remembered with photos of the cloud in NYC
September 11, 2001
The flag from the World Trade Center was held up high.
Again September 11, 2021, the Queen played
the Star-Spangled Banner and put a wreath down,
remembering the horror of the UK.
The French remembered by putting a flag down
at the Eiffel Tower again.
The Australians sent their damaged and resilient flag from 9 11 2001
flying as part of the
World Trade Center
to return to be seen in unison
against Terrorism.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Amos 5:24
Let justice roll on like a river,
and righteousness as a mighty stream
Isaiah 62:1
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
1 John 3:19
This is how we know that we belong to the truth
and
how we set our hearts at rest in His presence
Ecclesiastes 9:17
The quiet words of the wise
are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Isaiah 18:4
This is what the LORD says to me:
"I will remain quiet
and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
For Todd Beamer and all the first responders.
The Brave and Valient.
Isaiah 32:18
My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"
And let those who hear say, "Come!"
Let those who are thirsty come;
and let all who wish take the free gift of the water of life.
Abba, Father,
When the darkness closes in, Come, Lord Jesus!
Courage fails and hopes grow dim, Lord Jesus, come!
Clear the shadows from our sight;
set our troubled world aright
Fill our eyes with radiant light.
Lord Jesus come!
Dwell in us
and those we Love
We want to seek Your first.
Give us this day
and help us to finish well.
We rest our cares with Your Love,
We trust our Nation to You,
And ask the Blessing of Jesus Christ upon us
and
Your Good Creation.
Jesus saves the world
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Amen.
Jesus, God of Encouragement.
Jesus, Hope and Future.
Jesus the Lord
saves the world
Amen.
♔ LORD JESUS SAVES †
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