Heroes.

This post is a little out of the norm for me. On 9/11 I boarded a plane in the early morning with my mentor and board member Fred Musone and my dear friend and COO Michael Giarrizzo Jr. Within an hour, we went into a steep descent for an emergency landing in Atlanta, having no idea what was happening other than the pilots telling us "brace yourselves." When we landed, our phones all began ringing. On the other end of the line was my six-year old son. He blurted out, "Daddy, planes from Boston crashed into the World Trade Center. I thought you were dead." My heart stopped.

I got to go home several days later and hug my son. Todd Beamer didn't. On 9/11, heroes from the NYPD, NYFD, the Pentagon and those working in and near the towers were heroes just like Todd. But they didn't get to hug their loved ones.

On this day, please preserve their memories. Todd gave us a view of heroism displayed by many that day. At a time like this, Todd is a great reminder that we're all Americans and we're all in this together.

Here's a rough transcript of the call from that day -- please note that while some parts of the call likely transpired the way the following claims, the conversation was not taped and a verified transcript of the actual call does not exist.   Lisa Jefferson, the GTE operator took notes on post-its and below is edited from her comments to the press.

Regardless, the lives saved by Todd's and others' actions aboard United 93 that day are heroic. It's worth your read:

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: 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??

Todd: 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 XXX-XXX-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 ultra sound. 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?

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 the Lord's Prayer with me?

They pray

Todd: (softer) God help me...Jesus help me...(clears throat and louder)

Todd: Are you guys ready?

Todd Morgan Beamer: Let’s Roll...