On this 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, let’s remember the roles of two people from the Chicago area — Todd Beamer and Lisa Jefferson — and how their lives intersected on that horrific day.
We all have our own memories of Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists turned four planes into missiles.
A plane hit each of the two World Trade Center towers. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth aircraft — the one Beamer was on — plunged into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Beamer grew up in west suburban Glen Ellyn.
Jefferson was raised on the South Side.
Beamer was on United Airlines Flight 93. His hijacked plane was believed headed to Washington, with the White House and Capitol — symbols of our nation — ripe targets.
Beamer is best known for his stirring phrase, “Let’s roll,” said before he and several other passengers rushed the terrorists, thwarting their attack plans when the plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
Using an Airfone, attached to the back of a headrest on a seat, Beamer simply dialed 0 and was connected to Jefferson, a supervisor at the time at the Verizon Airfone Call Center in west suburban Oak Brook. The world knows how the passengers took on the Flight 93 terrorists because of that call.
The two — each calm and with remarkable presence — talked for about 15 minutes with Beamer reporting on the situation in the plane. The passengers by then knew about the WTC attacks from calls they were able to get through.
Beamer, 32, on Sept. 11, was living in Canbury, New Jersey. He was an account manager for the Oracle Corporation, the father of two boys with another baby — a girl — on the way. He was traveling to San Francisco for a business meeting when the terrorists seized control of his flight.
A son of the western suburbs, Beamer attended…