A story of heroism, sacrifice, and facing reality

We share this story and assume that it is true, based on the circumstances. Regardless of who masterminded and executed the attacks twenty-five years ago on NYC and DC, the radio recordings and transcripts seem to be true. And a now-peaceful and “sacred” field in Pennsylvania should remind us that ordinary people, and even former government types, can be brave and realistic. And make a difference.

Before history recorded the brave passenger revolt on Flight 93, the very first stand against terror was taken by the two men already in the cockpit.

On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 lifted off from Newark bound for San Francisco. At the controls sat two men built for the sky: Captain Jason M. Dahl, a veteran transport pilot from Denver, and First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.

Homer’s life had been dedicated to aviation. From building model airplanes as a boy on Long Island to graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, he rose to the rank of Major and was named the 21st Air Force Aircrew Instructor of the Year in 1993.

At 9:28 a.m., everything changed.

Air traffic controllers picked up a desperate, chilling transmission: “Mayday!” followed by the unmistakable sounds of a violent struggle. Four hijackers had breached the cockpit and turned the Boeing 757 toward Washington, D.C.

They expected complete submission. What they got was a fight.

Captain Dahl and First Officer Homer refused to simply yield control. Forced inside, they resisted. They struggled. They fought back with everything they had.

Their resistance bought the most valuable commodity on earth: time.

Those crucial minutes in the cockpit allowed the passengers and crew in the cabin to make phone calls, learn the fate of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and realize their plane was being used as a guided missile. It gave them the precious time needed to organize, act, and strike back.

At 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Everyone aboard was lost.

But the U.S. Capitol remained standing. The White House remained standing. Countless lives on the ground were spared because the brave souls on Flight 93 drew the line.

Two pilots faced a nightmarish moment no training could ever prepare them for. When that moment came, they fought.

They never made it home. But because of them, the hijackers never reached their target.

Never forget Captain Jason M. Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.

Not just those two men, of course, but all those on that flight. Especially these four men and the two flight attendants.

And all those who responded to help and try to deal with the horror, regardless of why or who or how. We will never know the truth until Judgment Day about what really happened, but we know that those who died and were injured, those who grew ill and were afflicted for life were real people. Not crisis actors. Whether it was in New York City, or the Pentagon, or Pennsylvania, their deaths and (for most of them) their actions deserve honor and respect.

We state this assuming that we do know the truth of what happened on Flight 93, regardless of the evil actions of people of whatever source, politics, or belief. Maybe we are wrong. But…

Never again should we allow this sort of terror to happen, whoever is to blame. But we should never forget those who did not cower, who did not say “I can’t do anything,” who did not kill themselves first out of fear. As for Flight 93, perhaps, looking back from Judgment Day, we may see that those people in the White House or the Capitol building did not deserve the sacrifice those crew and passengers on that flight made. But the crew and passengers did not know that. Honor their sacrifice, honor their bravery, and… if necessary, imitate them.

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Source: https://freedombunker.com/2026/09/12/a-story-of-heroism-sacrifice-and-facing-reality/