As we approach the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, Townhall plans to honor the lives lost and the lives forever changed with our "Heroes of 9/11" series. Every day from now until September 11, we will highlight an American hero. This year, most especially, we wish not simply to commemorate an event, but the character of exceptional men and women who demonstrated the best of humanity in one of its darkest moments. More than that, we want to educate younger generations for whom September 11 is little more than a historical episode so that we embody what it means to "Never Forget."

On the morning of September 11, Todd Beamer and 32 other innocent passengers boarded United Airlines Flight 93 in Newark, New Jersey. They were bound for San Francisco, California. What Beamer didn't know as he boarded the plane was that four of his fellow passengers were terrorists, and he didn't know his name would go down in history as one of the heroes of that dark day.

Flight 93 left Newark at 8:42 AM, 41 minutes after leaving the gate and just four minutes before American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:28 AM, while Flight 93 was over eastern Ohio, the four terrorists put their plan into action, likely killing a flight attendant and passenger seated in first class. They then stormed the cockpit and incapacitated Captain Jason M. Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer before turning the plane back on a southeast heading. The remaining passengers were forced into the back of the plane.

Beamer tried to use the Airfone to reach his wife, Lisa, at their home in Cranbury, New Jersey. The Beamers had two sons, and Lisa was pregnant with their third child. When Beamer was unable to reach her, he used the Airfone to call a GTE Airfone supervisor, Lisa Jefferson.

During the course of their conversation, Beamer learned what happened in New York and Washington, D.C.

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Per the transcript, Beamer told Jefferson, "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?"

Lisa told Todd about the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "It's very bad," she said. "Our country is under attack, and I'm afraid that your plane may be part of their plan."

Beamer then asked Jefferson for a favor. "I want you to call my wife and kids for me and tell them what's happened. Promise me you'll call."

"I promise — I'll call," Lisa replied.

Passenger Thomas Burnett made several phone calls to his wife, Deena. She, too, told Burnett what had happened at the World Trade Center.

"Oh, my God," Burnett said. "It's a suicide mission." In a subsequent call, Deena told Burnett about the attack on the Pentagon. Burnett then told her he and the other passengers were forming a plan to take back control of the plane.

"Don't worry," he said. "We're going to do something."

Jeremy Glick also called his wife, telling her the hijackers appeared "Iranian" and were wielding knives, and Mark Bingham called his mother.

All told, 13 passengers and crew made 37 phone calls on Flight 93. They knew what had happened, and they decided to fight back. They would not allow their plane to be used as a weapon like it was in New York and D.C.

Flight attendant CeeCee Lyles called her husband and left him a message, while her colleague Sandy Bradshaw called her husband and said she was boiling water to throw at the hijackers.

At 9:53 AM, Honor Wainio called her stepmother. That call lasted several minutes, then Wainio told her, "I have to go. They're breaking into the cockpit. I love you."

Beamer, who was still on the phone with Lisa Jefferson, told her that he and the other passengers were going to subdue the hijacker who claimed he had a bomb.

Together, Beamer and Jefferson recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. Other passengers joined in.

"If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them," Beamer said to Jefferson.

Then there were some muffled voices before Jefferson heard the six words that would define Flight 93:

"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."

Those were Todd Beamer's last words.

Investigations into the September 11 terrorist attacks found the hijackers specifically targeted flights that would have smaller passenger loads to reduce the likelihood that passengers would do exactly what the people on Flight 93 did — fight back.

Exactly how many of the passengers rushed the cockpit is unclear. But at approximately 9:57 AM, the revolt began. The hijacker flying the plane began rolling the aircraft back and forth to try to throw the passengers off balance. When that didn't work, he began pitching the nose of the plane up and down.

The cockpit voice recorder picked up screaming and crashing outside of the cockpit, as well as shouts of pain and distress from the hijacker outside the cockpit, indicating he was being attacked by the passengers. At 10:00, a passenger is heard yelling, "Roll it," possibly referring to the food cart, which was used as a battering ram against the cockpit door.

One minute later, the recorder picked up one of the hijackers asking, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?"

"Yes, put it in and pull it down."

At 10:03 AM, Flight 93 crashed in an empty field in Stonycreek, Pennsylvania, near Shanksville and about 20 minutes flying time from Washington, D.C. The 9/11 Commission Report never agreed on whether or not the passengers managed to breach the cockpit or even break the door, but many of the passengers' family members believe they did, and that they killed at least one of the hijackers.

It is believed the hijackers intended to crash Flight 93 into the United States Capitol, and Vice President Dick Cheney had ordered the plane shot down. When he learned of the crash, Cheney said, "I think an act of heroism just took place on that plane."

To call it an act of heroism is an understatement. The passengers of Flight 93 fought back knowing full well that doing so might cost them their lives, preventing the terrorists from reaching their intended target and almost certainly saving countless lives on the ground.

Even though Todd Beamer was the face and voice of the Flight 93 revolt, each and every passenger and crew member deserves mention:

Each of them is a beacon of light and hope, the embodiment of the American spirit that shone through on a dark day in American history.

Today, the watch Todd Beamer wore that day is on display at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. It is smashed, charred, and missing the crystal and the second hand. Despite that, the face still displays the number 11, forever freezing that date in time. Next to it sits Beamer's business card, crumpled and faded, but also a testament to the heroism that echoes even now.

"Let's roll."

This is part of the American Heroes of 9/11 series. To read more about the American Heroes of 9/11, click here.