Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Interview with Lisa Beamer

Aired August 23, 2002 - 09:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The horrific events of September 11 created some new American heroes. Among them, Todd Beamer, who helped organize his fellow passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 to try to take the plane back from the terrorists who hijacked it. He left behind his pregnant wife, Lisa, who quickly became a national symbol of courage. She and her children have spent most of the year trying to come to terms with their loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, David. This is beautiful. Oh, can I have that one too? Is that for me, too?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say, "Happy Mother's Day."

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mother's Day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Come here. Love you. Those are beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: And she has written a new book called "Let's Roll," Todd's rallying cry to his fellow passengers, and Lisa Beamer is here now -- great to see you in person for a change.

LISA BEAMER, 9/11 WIDOW: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: An honor to meet you.

BEAMER: Thank you. Nice to be here.

ZAHN: So I imagine writing this book certainly gave you some emotional ups and downs. When you think about the whole process of what it took to finish this thing, what is it that you learned about yourself and what you learned about Todd?

BEAMER: I think I went back over again just the usual everyday sort of things about who he was, and what our life was like up until September 11, and certainly in revisiting those, there is a whole lot of mourning that goes on, and when you realize again all the things that have been lost. But I think I realized just that, you know, in life there is so many things that swirl around you, but certainly the things that last over time are those deep elements of character and courage and faith that Todd had luckily built up in his short 32 years on earth, and how important that was. ZAHN: I guess what was amazing to me as I read the book is how universally that was accepted. I guess almost every person in here who talks about Todd talked about him being this strong, principled, loving man.

BEAMER: He was only 32 when he died, he didn't have a long time to leave a legacy, but he was a very thoughtful person, and a person who knew who he wanted to be, and what sort of steps he needed to take to get there, and he worked hard on that in his short time here.

ZAHN: In one of the more dramatic parts of the book, you take us back to September 11 through a phone conversation he had actually made to an operator, and you talk openly about how there was a portion of you that was a little hurt that you hadn't heard from Todd because he carried two cell phones around with him all the time, and it wasn't until about a week after September 11 that you found out what he had done. Can you describe that to us this morning?

BEAMER: Well, I did have about four days after September 11 knowing that other passengers had made calls, and wondering why Todd hadn't, whether he had been injured, and thinking the worst might have happened to him right away, and just thinking those questions would never be answered, so when I did hear from Lisa Jefferson, the operator he spoke to, it was the Saturday following September 11. It was obviously very traumatic to hear, you know, exactly what went on on that plane in a very personal sort of way, but also just an amazing gift to have another message from him, have those questions answered, and just know that even in that horrible circumstance, that he remained the person that I knew and loved in our normal day to day life.

ZAHN: And you even describe how the operator couldn't run to a recording machine because she was afraid she was going to lose the call, and she told you specifically what? What had Todd said to her?

BEAMER: He went through a variety of different things on a very personal level. He gave her my phone number, my name, our children's names, and asked to call us, and tell us that he loved us, and just, you know, he still had hope that they could possibly do something to get out of there, but I think deep down inside -- he said to her at one point, that I know I am not going to get out of here, and I need to take care of my family, and this is the only way I can do it right now. And then, certainly, beyond that, he was very concerned that the proper action be taken in trying to get her to give advice on what that should be, and once he realized that they were not going to be held as normal hijacked passengers, that this was not going to end well, knowing that they had to take an action, and just following through with that.

ZAHN: How helpful has the government been in trying to help all of you families that were so affected by this better understand exactly what did happen to your loved ones?

BEAMER: We were able as Flight 93 families to hear the cockpit voice recorders back in April, which was a good thing just to sort of put some more facts around what we already knew to be true from our different conversations with our loved ones, just to know that the passengers did, indeed, work together, and they did, indeed, change the course of that plane and change the course of history, and to have more facts around it certainly made me feel more confident telling that story to other people and certainly telling it to my children some day.

ZAHN: Is your oldest one old enough to really understand what happened?

BEAMER: He knows that his daddy died. He knows it was in a plane crash, and he is starting to ask more questions now as to exactly what happened on the plane, and certainly I am going to have to have some difficult conversations with him very soon about the fact that there are very bad people in this world, and sometimes they do very bad things, and it is not a conversation you want to have with a 4-year-old, but it is part of our life now.

ZAHN: We were just looking at a beautiful picture of you with your arms very filled with children, including baby Morgan, who came, obviously, six months after September 11. How is the rest of your family doing, and how are you coping?

BEAMER: You know, having children makes it so much easier to wake up every morning and know exactly what I need to do.

ZAHN: Yes, because you can't think about yourself.

BEAMER: Right. Right. And certainly I have done a lot of things that I think will help me personally in my healing process, being part of a support group of other 9/11 families, and my own counseling, and just taking time aside to just remember and mourn and grieve and, you know, but certainly with the children, they give me a high priority to know why I am here, and what I need to accomplish, and they have been great, and they are doing wonderful.

ZAHN: But you obviously take very seriously the trauma the children have suffered, not only in this catastrophe, but others along the way, and you have actually created a foundation, the Beamer Foundation, that helps those kids. What is it that these kids will get out of the foundation?

BEAMER: We are actually in the final stages of developing a program for children who have been through a family trauma and we are going to look to partner with them through a variety of different experiences and long-term mentoring to help them use that as a conduit to greatness in their life and character building, and so that they will be able to make heroic choices similar to the ones that Todd made everyday of his life, and then on September 11.

ZAHN: There is a little bit of controversy that you have had to deal with, and that is the phrase "let's roll," which happens to be the name of your book. Now you would like to trademark this to prevent the misuse of it, or the exaggeration of it.

BEAMER: Back in the fall, the foundation sought a trademark on it for charitable use to make sure that when we wanted to use it for something, we would be able to without any legal problems, and we have been working on that process, and it is going just fine.

I am just amazed at the life that "let's roll" has taken for our country, and I am certainly encouraged and honored by its use in helping people look at what little people can obtain when they do big things, and as long as it is used in that way, I am certainly encouraged and inspired by it myself.

ZAHN: So were you surprised when people were a little critical that maybe someone was going to try to trademark it?

BEAMER: Yes, I am surprised that it became an issue at all, and there are people out there trying to trademark it for profit, which isn't something I would really see as a good use of it, but, you know, I think most of the uses have just been very inspirational for people, and I am encouraged and honored by them.

ZAHN: Well, you probably don't ever stop long enough to realize how inspiring you have been to many of us who have watched you over this past year. You have shown great dignity and great grace, and I highly recommend people take a look at this book, because it really is a tribute to your husband, his life, and your life together.

BEAMER: Thank you.

ZAHN: Good luck to you. Do you have anybody waiting in the hallway? Do you have a little toddler out there waiting to be hugged or they are all at home.

BEAMER: No, they are at home today. I am going to go home and meet them this afternoon.

ZAHN: Mommy is on her way home. Lisa Beamer. The name of her book is "Let's Roll," and we really appreciate your dropping by.

BEAMER: Thanks, Paula.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com