“Reflection on Liberty” September 11, 2023

The speech below tells the story of Tom Burnett, Todd Beamer, and the other passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. It was given  by Mr. James Maloney, school parent and Military and Law Enforcement Retired Officer, at the Trinity Academy “Honoring America Assembly” commemorating the twenty-second anniversary of these events.

Thank you, Dr. Mitchell, and good morning to you all.

This is a commemoration, which, by definition, is a call to remembrance. I want to remember a crew of brave souls on that terrible day that decided to fight back out of patriotism, faith, and conviction. 

Specifically, I am going to tell you a story about two of those brave souls because, due to circumstances, we know the most about those two. 

Tom Burnett and Todd Beamer

Once upon a time, on September 11, in the year of Our Lord 2001, there were two men named Tom Burnett and Todd Beamer. Both boarded a plane that morning, taking off from New Jersey to California. This was United Airlines Flight 93. 

Now, Tom was a 38-year-old businessman who sold medical devices. He was a Catholic, with a wife and three little girls. His wife, Deena, described him as someone who believed in “true right and true wrong,” loved his country, and wondered when visiting places like Gettysburg if he could be as brave as those Americans who fought and toiled on that terrible battlefield. 

Todd was a 32-year-old businessman who worked for Oracle, a computer software company. He was an Evangelical Christian with two little boys, and his wife, Lisa, was pregnant with a little girl. His wife described a similar personality, who believed in right decisions, hard work, and duty. Both Todd and Tom were high school athletes in multiple sports. 

The Attack

There were four planes hijacked and turned into weapons on September 11, 2001, by Islamic Jihadists. Within each group of hijackers was a trained pilot. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 in the morning. Sixteen minutes later, at 9:03 in the morning, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Thirty-four minutes later, at 9:37 in the morning, American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, Headquarters of the United States Military. 

For those of us watching this unfold live on TV, the world had changed in less than one hour. We were now a nation at war. Buildings were being evacuated all over the country, especially on the East Coast and Washington D.C. In Chicago, the Sears Tower was evacuated. How many more potential hijacked planes were out there? We didn’t know! Unbeknownst to us at that time, somewhere above the skies of Pennsylvania, was United Airlines Flight 93. 

Now, this is where our story takes a turn. You see, if the hijackers of Flight 93 could have had their pick of people to be on Flight 93, they would not have picked this group of passengers. Besides Tom and Todd — remember, businessmen, both deep in Christian faith, love for this country, but also trained in business, decision science if you will, a discipline that emphasizes taking a course of action and seeing it through; once you decide, don’t hesitate — besides them, you had a judo master, a champion rugby player, an ex-cop now flight attendant, an ANG air traffic controller, and even a 60-year-old ex-paratrooper and others. 

The other thing about Flight 93, unlike the other three hijacked planes that day? Whereas the others had all taken off on time or close to it, Flight 93 was delayed by 42 minutes. So, by the time Flight 93 was actually hijacked over Ohio near Pennsylvania — the flight deck was taken over by Islamic terrorists, and the plane was turned around and headed towards Washington, D.C. — the first two planes had already hit the World Trade Center in New York City. 

The Phone Calls

The hijackers herded the passengers to the back of the plane, and now some of the passengers were able to secretly phone loved ones. Tom was able to call his wife, Deena. Through the course of their phone calls and Deena telling him about the other planes, Tom realized this was not a hijacking but a mission to destroy. Tom told her, “We are going to do something, but we are waiting until we are over an unpopulated area.” 

Tom was likely the lead organizer of this counterattack to take back the plane. In his last phone call with Deena, she asked him, “What more can I do?” His response: pray. 

Now, whereas the hijackers had trained for this attack for months and years and, according to their religion, it was going to earn them a special place in a heavenly paradise, this group of Americans — unknown to each other, in the course of 30 minutes, reacted, gained intelligence, formed a war council, voted, and executed an airborne counterattack at 8,000 feet at over 600 miles per hour. But they had no weapons and had never met each other, let alone trained together. What weapons did they have? Do we have any evidence that there was one moment, one action, that united them in their purpose to seal their courage?

This is where Todd comes in. Todd did not phone his wife. He didn’t want to worry her as she was pregnant with their third child. He phoned the operator and reached one in Chicago named Lisa. Also listening in to the call were FBI Agents. He gave Lisa the operator intelligence on what was happening and that a counterattack was in the planning. 

The Prayers

In his conversation with Lisa the operator, he realized that their plan to retake the plane might not have a good chance. Todd asked Lisa to recite the Lord’s Prayer with him. As Christians, we should all take a moment to consider: Why this prayer before taking a course of action, since his wife tells us in her book that it wasn’t a prayer she heard him recite often? “FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.” 

He then asked Lisa the operator to say the 23rd Psalm with him. 

The LORD is my shepherd;

there is nothing I lack

In green pastures He makes me lie down;

to still waters He leads me;

He restores my soul.

He guides me along right paths

for the sake of His name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You set a table before me

in front of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me

all the days of my life;

I will dwell in the house of the LORD

for endless days.

Lisa the operator would report that she heard the other passengers around Todd join in to recite the psalm. That was a unifying and sealing moment. I would say the Latin expression for this moment is “Memento Mori.” Again, Todd’s wife tells us in her book that it wasn’t a Psalm she heard him recite often, but she knew he was taught it as a child, and it returned to him in his time of need.

The Counterattack

After the reciting of the Psalm, Lisa the operator heard Todd say, “Let’s roll,” and the line went dead. From Ceecee Lyles, an ex-police officer and one of the flight attendants of Flight 93, a woman described by her husband as a “God-fearing woman,” we know that the beverage cart was being used as a ram, and that she and fellow flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw had boiled water to be used as a weapon. She had called her husband and stayed on the line with him as the counterattack unfolded. 

For 22 years, I thought Todd’s exhortation to his fellow passengers of “Let’s roll” was a reference to begin rolling the beverage cart up the aisle. Not until I researched his wife’s book in preparation for today did I realize it was also a final message to his wife and children. “Let’s roll” was something he said frequently to his boys when leaving the house. 

The counterattack failed to regain control of the aircraft, but it forced Flight 93 to crash into a field in a sparsely populated area near Shanksville, PA. There were no survivors of Flight 93. However, the plot to use Flight 93 as a weapon was defeated, and there were no casualties on the ground. Upon hearing of Flight 93 crashing, Vice President Cheney was reported to say, “I think an act of heroism just occurred aboard that plane.” 

Later, it was learned the most likely target was the White House. In her book, Fighting Back, Tom’s wife, Deena, writes:

About a year before he died, Tom shared with me that he had been going to daily Mass at a Church near his office. It was something he felt compelled to do. He said he felt God had a message for him, but he didn’t know what it was. I was intrigued because Tom rarely spoke so openly about his faith. He said that he felt if he could spend more time in prayer and in Church, then maybe he would be able to figure it out. I asked if he had any idea what it may be. He said, “No, but I know it will impact a great number of people, and it has something to do with the White House.”

Thomas Burnett was given a military burial, and his remains were interred at Fort Snelling in Bloomington, MN. 

Todd Beamer’s wife, Lisa, was mailed two purple hearts, one from a Vietnam veteran and one by a World War II veteran.   

Thoughts in Remembrance

As we pray for the souls of all those lost on 9/11 and the aftermath, I want you to remember three things: 

First, Pope Leo XIII said as Catholics, you are born for combat, and combat has multiple meanings and multiple settings…For again, as Deena Burnett writes in the conclusion of her book Fighting Back:

Sometimes our weapons against that which threatens our values will be our fists and a meal cart like Flight 93. Sometimes it will be our kindness that overcomes malice, our gentleness that overcomes anger, or our mercy and forgiveness that overcomes self-condemnation. There will be times when doing the right thing will mean giving a hug or providing a meal. There will be times when we must stand firm, stand up, and speak up, fighting against that which seeks to destroy what we stand for by working through government channels and persevering until change has come to pass. Each situation in which we find ourselves every day may require a different tool, a different weapon to do the right thing. We must be alert to what our circumstances require. We must be vigilant, diligent, and persevering: humble enough to admit when we are wrong and continually strive to learn more. We must listen to our hearts which can hold wisdom from God which exceeds human logic. For several decades our country has been heading in a moral direction which is wrong. Yet we have been unwilling to admit we are off-course and have justified our actions by muddying the boundaries. However, what is right remains right. The clear difference between right and wrong is founded on eternal principles established by a supernatural God and not humanity. Those who are willing to do what is right must stand up. It is time to fight back.

Second, remember that General and President Washington implored his soldiers and citizens not only to pray for their country but also to conduct themselves in a manner so as to earn and deserve the blessings of the Almighty.

Third, be proud to be an American, but never arrogant. 

Another Prayer: Jason “Tye” Pratt

Lastly, I would like to add one to our prayers, if I may. For me, September 11 is the anniversary of two tragedies. Twenty years ago yesterday, I was working as a police officer in Omaha, NE, in roll call with my crew, a group of 10 officers. Next to me was an officer named Jason “Tye” Pratt, the one on the crew who made everyone laugh or kept their spirits up even in the sight of something horrible. 

On September 11th, 2003, at approximately 10 pm, while backing up other officers in the foot pursuit of an armed and felony fugitive, Officer Jason Pratt was mortally wounded. He died eight days later of his wounds. He left his wife, Stacy, his 3-year-old daughter Madison, and his 9-month-old daughter Jordyn.

He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant.  

Let us honor these brave heroes of our nation.  Let us always remember their sacrifice.

God bless you all, and God bless America!