"Let's roll."
Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, those three words became a battle cry aboard Flight 93, spoken by passenger Todd Beamer as he and a handful of others charged the cockpit to stop terrorist hijackers who planned to crash the plane into either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
In a new video posted to social media, Mike Rogers, a Republican running for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, gave the floor to Todd’s father, David Beamer, to recount his son’s final day. David made clear that Todd and the 39 others on that plane were not mere victims of the 9/11 attacks; they were among the first Americans killed in action. As he told the story, he framed their deaths not as tragedy, but as the sacrifice of a free people who chose to fight back.
Todd Beamer and 39 other patriots sacrificed everything to save our nation’s Capitol on September 11, 2001.
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) September 10, 2026
He’s survived by his wife, three kids, and parents. His dad, David Beamer, is right. Nobody deserved this.
Let’s roll. pic.twitter.com/aAcLIVYYEY
"Forty-three people on flight 93 determined correctly we're not going back. We are now a guided missile destination unknown. My name is David Beamer. I'm a proud Michigan resident. Some of you have heard about my son. His name was Todd Beamer. He had little boys aged three and a half and one and a half. He had a wife Lisa. She was five months pregnant. He had a plan for the day. He never came home," Beamer said. "He and 39 other free people got on board United flight 93 scheduled to go from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco. Some of the passengers became aware and talking with loved ones is not a normal hijacking. The hijackers say we're going back to Newark. Well guess what? Two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center in New York."
"Forty-three people on flight 93 determined correctly we're not going back. We are now a guided missile destination unknown. They considered options. They took a vote and decided we need to fight back," he said. "Our son Todd was able to have a telephone conversation with a lady named Lisa Jefferson, a GTE telephone operator based in Chicago. Todd provided recon, described the situation, told her we're probably not going to make it out of this. Give my love to the family. He prayed together with Lisa Jefferson, the Lord's Prayer, and then she heard the last words from him. 'Are you guys ready? Let's roll.'"
"The counterattack was launched. It was successful," Beamer said. "United flight 93 with our son Todd and 39 other free people crashed in a quiet meadow outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Everybody died. Those 40 free people on flight 93 were not the victims. They were killed in action."
"9-11 was a horrific incident. It was perpetrated by enemies of America. When I hear anyone suggest America deserves 9-11, my question is who would say that? An American wouldn't say that. A citizen, I guess, has free will and a right to say that. An American would not," he said. "I've had the opportunity to provide some perspectives to talk about things that are really important to remember."
"Yes, my son and to encourage people to remember him and what others did and to get on board with the things that matter. Your faith, your country, your kids, and your vote. And so with every generation, the responsibility is to carry on because America didn't just happen. America was built. America was protected. And that's what it takes."
This comes a day before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and just days after David Beamer somberly warned that our enemies never really left us. Now, he says, some of those enemies are inside the gates, in the form of the Democratic Socialists of America, a movement he believes often finds itself in agreement with the same terrorists who supported attacks on America’s homeland. And even more frightening, they have not been disavowed by many Democrat leaders, and are being actively promoted, outright, by others.
This is the choice ahead of Americans in the upcoming midterms: between those who find themselves in the same tent as people who supported the 9/11 terrorists, and those who will do everything in their power to ensure that ideology never rises, or threatens America, ever again.