911 Memorial

911 Memorial. Extraordinary Acts on Behalf of Ordinary People. On September 11, 2001, nineteen Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. They intentionally flew two of the planes into the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. They flew the third into the Armed Forces Center at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people were killed as a result of these attacks. Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham, Los Gatos High School alumni, were passengers aboard the forth plane, UA FLight 93, when it was hijacked by four Al-Qaeda terrorists. Beamer and Bingham were amoung those passengers who formed a plan to regain cockpit control of the plane. Their extraordinary courage and acts and distinguished as they led this civilian counter-attack that day, preventing the hijackers from reaching their intended target, the U.S. Capitol building. Prior to the struggle to regain control of the plane, Beamer was heard praying the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm, prompting others to join in. As the team prepared to make its move, muffled voices were heard and Beamer clearly stating "Are you ready? OK, let's roll." During that heroic struggle, the plane crashed and all 44 people on board perished in an isolated field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This heroic act by the two Los Gatans on that plane will always be remembered.