Beamer affirms faith, remembers late husband Todd in packed McCosh lecture

"Let's roll" has become the mandate of an American hero. These were the final words spoken on a cell phone by Todd Beamer on Sept. 11 before he and a group of passengers aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 decided to fight against the terrorists.

Ever since the morning Beamer uttered those words over a failing connection with a telephone operator, the life of his wife, Lisa, has taken a dramatic turn.

At the request of Jim Leonard '04, who attends Beamer's church in Plainsboro, N.J., and was part of the youth group led by both Todd and Lisa, Beamer addressed a capacity crowd last night in McCosh 50.

A number of Christian fellowships, including Agape and Athletes in Action, sponsored the event to coincide with other Holy Week events.

She spoke about what the aftermath of her husband's decision has been for herself and her three sons: David, 4, Drew, 2, and a newborn, Morgan.

"Life does not look quite so good anymore," Lisa said. "But it's not about my human strength or my ability to be a good mom that matters . . . it's my relationship with God."

Both Lisa and Leonard stressed that while Todd seemed to be an extremely normal man, he had extraordinary faith and good will.

"He was a quiet, unassuming, ordinary guy," Leonard said. "But he was a hero from the first time I met him . . . He knew how to live his life."

Todd had his priorities straight, Leonard said, putting God first, his wife and family second and everything else after that.

Todd had a willingness to sacrifice his life, Lisa said, because of the strength he got from his faith.

"He tried to live his life . . . trying to evaluate what sort of decision would take him to the other level," she said. "I'm sure as he looked over his life in those final moments . . . he was thinking over his relationship with God."

She challenged the audience to find more faith in their own lives.

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"We want to do so many things in our lives," she said. "And yet the first step is just believing."

Leonard spoke of Todd's personable side. For him, he was a man who "lived to help other people." A man who "told some of the worst jokes ever." A man who was an athlete, a father and a husband.

For both Leonard and Josh Lee '05, who was also a member of the youth group run by the Beamers, Todd's selflessness has made them question what they would have done in his position.

"[Flight 93] made me question whether I have enough faith," Lee said. "Todd probably knew that his life was already lost, but he took a stand and wasn't gripped with fear.

"It comes down to what you believe in," he said. "And Todd believed that Jesus Christ is a living God."

Members of the Christian fellowships who organized her appearance said holding the speech this week had special significance.

"We were looking at Easter week because of the parallel between Todd's sacrifice and other sacrifices, namely Christ's," said Todd Johnson '01, a staff member of Agape.

Earlier this week, the FBI announced that it would allow relatives of Flight 93 victims to listen to the cockpit recording.

The session is scheduled to be held in Princeton on April 18. Lisa did not discuss whether she would be interested in hearing what transpired in the final minutes before her husband's death.

For Lisa, when United Airlines offered to fly the family of the people aboard Flight 93 to the crash site in a Pennsylvania field soon after Sept. 11, she initially refused.

But after agreeing to go and after walking near the ground where the plane crashed, she was overcome with a great sense of relief.

"There was nothing important about Todd in that field," she said. "Everything that was important was still alive."