That music you heard that just finished is a song called "Into the Fire" by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is a New Jersey Boy – 158 people from his home county of Monmouth perished on 9/11. From the local bridge near his house you could see the Twin Towers.
Some of the people who perished that day were big Springsteen fans. When Bruce heard about this, he would call up the widow and just talk to them - by their accounts helped them get through the toughest time of their life. There are a number of such incidences told by widows of 9/11. He didn't do it for publicity, it wasn't set up by an agent, the media wasn't informed – he just did it because it was the right thing to do.
And then he started writing about the events of 9/11 and how they made him feel, and what he perceived others were feeling. And so in the summer of 2002 he released "The Rising" . If you haven't heard this album, I highly recommend it. If Springsteen isn't your cup of tea, I encourage you to at least take a look at the lyrics online.
That song that played, "Into The Fire", is the song that I find the most moving. The refrain of "May your Strength give us Strength, May your Faith give us Faith, May your Hope give us Hope, May your Love give us Love" I find it to be a very fitting tribute to those whose lost their lives on that fateful day five years ago.
Strength. Faith. Hope. Love. Wonderful attributes in any human being. These are characteristics of which we can never have enough.
And so I went searching of examples of each of these personality traits in the stories of 9/11. And also what God has to say about these traits in his word.
So I have four stories to share with you today. You may have heard one or two of them, you might have heard them all. But they are worth repeating. They are worth remembering. They are all stories of people touched by 9/11 in one way or another. One of strength. One of Faith. One of Hope. One of Love. All four of these elements are evident in each of these stories to some degree. These characteristics are generally not mutually exclusive. But I have tried to select stories I believe give an outstanding example of a specific item.
Not all the people in these stories are Christians. One is an atheist. One is Jewish. But it doesn't mean that their strength can't give us strength. That their faith can't give us faith. That their hope can't give us hope. That their love can't give us love.
After each story I have asked Major Leslie Peacock to lead us in a song, a song that will in some small way address each of these items.
So let's start with our story of strength.
Now I am not talking about physical strength . Or the kind of strength that comes in a bottle . I am talking about the strength to do the right thing. To do the hard thing when it's so much easier to do the easy thing. Strength of character, not strength of body.
Pat Tilman was the pac-10 defensive player of the year in 1997 while playing for Arizona State. He was drafted in the 7th round, the 226th pick by the Arizona Cardinals, but he worked hard and made the team, and ended up being a starter. After his contract of a half a million dollars expired at the end of the 2001 season, he turned down a three year contract for 3.6 million. That would be the easy thing to do…but he felt he was called, partly because of the events of 9/11, to defend his country. To him the events brought about what Sports Illustrated called a moment of moral clarity, a clarion call to arms.
You see, he had a strength, a conviction to his own personal beliefs, that led him to not take the easy way out. Just about everyone said he was crazy, and they would never do what he was doing, but not Pat. His own brother Richard when Pat told him the news said, "Are you crazy?"
So he walked away from the fame and fortune of the NFL and along with his brother Kevin enlisted in the United States Army. . The Army wanted to make him a poster boy to encourage others to enlist. He could have the easy life of 'celebrity soldier'. But that wasn't Pat. It wasn't the easy way for him.
He trained at Fort Lewis in Washington state, and was deployed to Iraq. He didn't see any real live action, and Pat wasn't a big fan of the Iraqi war. But he was a soldier and he did as he was told, true to his word.
So he got through his first tour duty, and when he got back he entered "Ranger School", a 61 day trial in the swamps of Florida to earn the sacred black and gold Ranger tab . Just over 50% make it through this – but Pat made it, and so did his brother Kevin.
But then it was back to Fort Lewis – waiting to be deployed – days of mindless tasks. Pat grew restless – and the Seattle Seahawks came knocking with an offer. But he said he still had a year left in the Army – but perhaps as his circumstances were unique and the Army could garner great P.R. and since he already served a tour in a war zone, he could probably get an early discharge.
The idea charged Pat. But a week later, he declined. He hadn't fulfilled his commitment and being the man of strength and conviction that Pat was, he just couldn't back down from the commitment he had made.
So in the spring of 2004 his Ranger squadron was deployed to Afghanistan. 35 men, including his brother were deployed to go from village to village, house to house, to flush out the enemy and their weapons. They only had one more village to complete their assigned area, when one of their vehicles busted a fuel pump .
They couldn't leave the vehicle, so they waited for a part to be flown in. They installed the part but it still wouldn't start. They tried towing it but after a couple of hours on these so called roads the vehicle became immovable. The commander of Pat's troop just wanted to leave the vehicle where it was and get on with their job, but the higher ups didn't want that as it could become a propaganda trophy for the enemy. Maybe they should just blow it up with a couple of grenades, but that would only lead to future problems with the brass. But eventually a local with a flat bed tow truck showed up and offered to haul the vehicle back to the nearest highway.
So the higher ups thought that this was a good idea, and gave the ok, but instructed the rangers to divide into two groups, one to go on to the last village to be searched, and one to escort the broken down vehicle back to the highway. And they wanted them to leave right away, in the late afternoon, instead of waiting for nightfall. The squadron leader radioed back his concerns, but was overruled so off they went.
Pat was in the group to continue on to the next village. His brother was in the other group that was escorting the tow truck.
Pat's group had to go on a road through a narrow canyon, an "Ambush Alley" as they called it. They made it safely through but missed their turn for the road to the next village. So they pulled over to get their bearings.
The other group couldn't make it the way they went, so they had to backtrack and come through the same canyon a little while after Pat's group. As they entered the canyon explosions from the 650 foot high canyon walls were heard, an ambush from the ridgeline.
Pat heard the explosion and took off. He knew the other group was coming through the canyon. His brother was down there. That inner strength of his was driving him, to be first, to be the leader – to do what he believe was right. "Let's go kill the bad guys", he said. He was a pro football player, the best athlete in the group. He raced on ahead. His group took fire from the opposite ridgeline. Two comrades, one an afghan and one a fellow soldier had come with him and found positions behind rocks and exchanged fire with the enemy across the way. His group tried to radio to the other group stuck in the canyon about their new position but got no response.
Pat raced back to his group. He asked his sergeant for permission to go closer than their current position so they could take out the enemy. The sergeant gave the go ahead. Off Pat went over the hill to charge closer. Not the easy thing, but in his mind, the right thing. That inner strength he had to do the right thing instead of the easy thing taking over for the last time.
They went closer to the ridgeline. The other group down in the canyon got to a more open area. They saw an Afghan up on the ridge. An enemy position they could fire on…so they opened up – but the Afghan they saw was the one with Pat. It wasn't the enemy at all. The machine guns unloaded on the hillside. The Afghan, 15 yards from Pat, dropped dead.
"Stop. Friendlies. Cease Fire." Pat and the other man with him shouted from the hill. The group down below couldn't hear them over the roar of their own firepower. The Talliban on the opposite side had stopped firing and apparently retreated. There was no more threat. The leader in the canyon realized it was the other group from his squadron up on the hillside when he saw their vehicles up ahead. He screamed, "Friendlies on top!" – nobody heard him. A hot shell from the cannon they were firing fell on him and burned him and he screamed. The gunners in his vehicle heard him, and in the confusion thought he had been hit by enemy fire.
Pat threw out a type of smoke signal, hoping they would see it as sign that they were friendlies. Down below they thought it was the smoke from a mortar being fired – they opened up fire and Pat got hit a few times in the chest but was protected by his bullet proof vest.
The crew down below kept moving down the road out of the canyon, and the firing stopped. They were somewhere between 35 and 50 yards from Pat and his fellow ranger. He and Pat exchanged a few words of relief.
And then suddenly, the machine guns started firing again. In the dusk of the late afternoon as the sun set they couldn't make out who was up on that hill. And Pat screamed, in utter disbelief, "Cease Fire, Friendlies!" – "I am Pat Tillman!" and then three bullets, fired by members of his own squadron, found his head, and Pat was dead at age 27.
It was strength to do what is right and not what is easy that led Pat to that bloody hillside in Afghanistan where he lost his life. May his strength give us strength, to not always do the easiest thing, but to do the right thing.
In James Chapter 1, verse 12, we read:
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
And where can we get the strength to preserve, to stand the test? One of my father's favorite verses, Isaiah 41:10, tells us:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
And now a story of Faith….
"Let's Roll."
We've all heard that, it's the battle cry of 9/11. It came from the passengers of United Flight 93, September 11, out of Newark, New Jersey, bound for San Francisco, California. Their plane had been hijacked. They had gotten on cell phones and airfones and heard what was going on. That planes had been flown into the twin towers and the pentagon. They knew this plane had a similar destination up ahead, and they figured they had nothing to lose in trying to stop it.
Todd Beamer was one of those passengers. "Let's Roll" was his trademark around the house. When it was time to go somewhere, he would gather up the kids , herd them to the car and say "Let's Roll." At my house when it's time to go somewhere, I tend to tell the kids, "Quick, to the batmobile!". Just doesn't quite have the same ring as "Let's Roll" in terms of a unifying statement against the war on terror.
Any way, Todd Beamer was a good Christian man. He and his wife taught the High School Sunday School class at the Alliance Church in Princeton, New Jersey for six years.
He worked for Oracle and had to travel quite a bit. He had a meeting in San Francisco – he could have flown out on Monday evening, September 10, but wanted to spend time with his wife and children. Todd was a family man. So he booked himself on the morning flight. He left home on September 11 at 6:15 AM to head for the airport for his 8 AM flight.
He had a Tom Clancy novel to read on the flight. The bookmark he used to mark his place was inscribed with The Lord's Prayer. The plane was delayed because of the usual heavy traffic on the runways of Newark airport. It finally took off at 8:42. 33 passengers, 7 crew members, plus four hijackers. The first 46 minutes were quite routine.
And then things went terribly wrong.
The plane was hijacked. One of the Terrorists was flying the plane. He came on the speaker and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen: Hear the captain, please sit down keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board. So, sit."
Passengers started calling loved ones with their cell phones and the GTE Airfones that are available in some planes. They found out what was going on. They had taken off just minutes before the first Tower was struck. Now they found out what had happened, and figured out what was going to happen to them.
Todd used one of these phones and called a GTE supervisor. GTE connected many calls that fateful day, but Todd was the only one to pick up the phone and dial zero. He got Phyllis Johnson, who transferred the call to her supervisor Lisa Jefferson. Lisa and Todd talked for the next 13 minutes, before Todd and the other passengers attempted to take over the plane, before it crashed into a field in Southern Pennsylvania.
He told her what was going on. He was calm, but then got a bit excited as the plane lurched and turned – he thought they were going down, but they were just turning around. Then he grew calm. He told her how about his wife. How he had two young sons, David and Andrew, and his third child, due in January.
Up to this moment, Beamer had been all business. Then the following took place:
Todd: "Lisa,"
Lisa: "Yes?"
Todd: "That's my wife's name"
Lisa: "Well that's my name, too, Todd,"
Todd: "Oh, my God, I don't think we're going to get out of this thing. I'm going to have to go out on faith."
There was Todd. Going out on Faith. He knew the odds were that he didn't have much longer on this earth. But his faith in his savior, the Lord Jesus Christ was strong. He had faith that whatever the future brought, he was going to be ok, because he trusted God completely.
Near the end of the conversation, she told him the plan, to jump the hijackers.
Lisa: "Are you sure that's what you want to do, Todd?"
Todd: "It's what we have to do,"
The he asked her to pray with him. The Lord's Prayer. Even though he had the bookmark, he didn't need it. And they prayed together.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.
There was Todd. Asking that God forgive those who trespass against him, which would include those terrorists who had taken over the plane and were about make his wife a widow and his children fatherless.
Then Todd, his faith steadfast and secure, said "Jesus help me."
Some accounts say the group recited the first verses of the 23rd of Psalm together, as a prayer, others say Todd himself recited the familiar passage. It doesn't matter, what matters are the words and the thoughts going on at this time, as the end probably draws near for these passengers…
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
And then Todd said,
"Are you guys ready? Let's roll."
May his Faith give us Faith.
My Bible describes Faith as "Reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God.". And it talks about the kind of faith that Todd meant when he said "I'm going to have to go out on Faith"."
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:1-2
And now a story about hope...
Brian Birdwell was a Lt. Colonel in the United States Army, a decorated veteran of the first Gulf War, and stationed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Married, with one son, his was a church going family who made Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia.
Now people have their favorite morning beverage. I like to have a nice helping of half and half with a couple of packets of raw sugar, and then with a little bit of Starbucks coffee thrown in for flavor. For Brian, it was coca-cola. Not what I call a real good morning drink, but whatever floats your boat as far as that goes. And that soda would play a part in saving his life.
So as Brian sat in his bosses' office with a couple of co-workers, Sandy and Cheryl on the morning of September 11, watching the horror played out on TV from New York, when nature called as a result of his morning soda, and he told his co-workers he would be right back. So he headed down the hallway to the men's room. As he finished up his business and came out of the bathroom, he had made it no more than 7 or 8 steps when American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon, just to the right of the office where he was watching TV, and where Sandy and Cheryl's remains would be found a few days later..
Here is how he described it in a recent speech at the Texas Republican Party State Convention – now those of you who know me know that I wasn't there. Probably not a meeting I would ever be invited to attend, much less speak at…but here is what Brian had to say about that morning:
I did not survive being 15-20 yards from the impact point of an 80 ton 757 traveling at 530 MPH with 3,000 gallons of jet fuel because the Army made me the toughest soldier in the Pentagon or even because I am a Texan, but because my Lord and Savior is as tough as they come. In an instant I went from a well-lit hallway, fully aware of my surroundings to an earthly hell of fire, intense heat, choking black smoke, pain and disorientation. In those first few moments, which seemed to last an eternity, I experienced the pain, both physical and emotional of dying a ghastly burning death. I was burned on 60-65% of my body on my back, legs, face, neck, and arms with the latter accounting for 40% being third degree burns requiring complete grafting. My arms are completely grafted from fingertip to arm pit. My facial areas to include eye sockets, forehead and ears have been reconstructed, as well as my hands. My most life threatening injury was the inhalation injury. My lungs were burned due to the heat and aerosolized jet fuel in them. Because of the blistering and gathering of fluid in my lungs, I was in fact beginning to drown. I was disoriented and unable to navigate my way out due to the loss of lighting combined with the black smoke. I cannot put in words the abject panic that captures your heart when you not only experience death in such a horrible manner, but the helplessness of not being able to escape to safety. I knew I was facing the finality of my life and when I crossed the threshold between the survival instinct and accepting my death, I screamed Jesus I’m coming to see you. I surrendered and collapsed to the floor and waited to die. I thought about Mel and Matt and how that morning would be my last to speak to them. In that moment that I gave up, the turmoil, pain, and panic was now filled with silence and the peace of knowing I would soon be in eternity with Christ. As I lay in the corridor waiting for the Lord to call me home, expecting to hear the words well done thou good and faithful servant.
His hope of eternity with Christ brought him Peace through all the pain.
But he didn't die. He collapsed under one of the few fire sprinklers that worked in that area. It doused out the fire raging his body and the fire around him. He was rescued and taken to the hospital. The Dr. said they were going to put him under with general anesthesia. His narrative from his June speech continues:
I then asked for the hospital chaplain to say a final prayer acknowledging God’s sovereignty in my life and accepting his will for me should I awake or not from the anesthesia. After Chaplain Cirrilo lead that prayer I then told Dr Williams, not from the strength of a soldier, but with faith in my Savior, “lets get on with it” resting in the comfort of Christ’s command of my life.
His Hope in the lord remained strong – it was foremost on his mind.
He continued:
The Surgeon General of the Army, would visit in the early morning hours of the 12th and strongly encourage Mel to get Matt up to see me. Mel would very wisely process this advice. That my chances of survival were very poor and that Matt needed to say goodbye to his father before I passed. Matt would make that visit and it would be wonderful yet solemnly mournful as we said goodbye to each other without speaking a word.
Because of the tube in my throat with the respirator tube connected to it, I had no air passing over my vocal cords so I was unable to speak, leaving me in the silence of my own thoughts. I would spend long days and nights counting the seconds and minutes of intense pain with only my silent plea for the Lord’s mercy through death. I wanted my physical suffering and Mel and Matt’s emotional agony of watching me slowly die to be finished.
On September 13th the President visited him. He said Lt. Colonel Birdwell, and as commander in chief, he saluted. Brian struggled valiantly through his pain and his burns and gave the best salute he could. It took about 20 seconds. President Bush held his salute and by the time Brian had finally done the best he could do, the President's eyes were welled up with tears.
Brian got better. They spread a brown goo over his arms that was laced with maggots, to eat away the dead skin and get rid of the infection – so that his arms would not need to be amputated. He had to go through a daily agonizing cleansing bath – which he compared to getting lemon juice into a small cut on your finger – but only this cut was almost your entire body.
Brian continued to improve The maggots, the baths, 39 surgeries, the weeks in ICU. But the lord had a plan for Brian. He didn't want to hear it when his preacher told him this, that there was a reason God saved you. But when he visited another burn patient he realized what his calling was.
He and his wife have formed a non-profit charity called "Face the Fire". This is their mission statement:
Face the Fire exists for the purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ. We hope to do this by helping burn survivors, wounded servicemen and women, their families and the medical facilities that specialize in their care. Because we experienced the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges facing survivors of these tragedies, the organization seeks to minister by providing encouragement, hope and financial assistance when needed.
You see, God wanted Brian to give hope to others. The hope that helped him get through his ordeal. And that is what he now does. Out of the tragedy came hope.
May his Hope give us Hope.
After the story about Todd Beamer and his Faith, I read the 1st and 2nd verses from the fifth chapter of Romans. I would like to continue with the next 3 verses of the fifth chapter. – Romans 5:3-5 reads:
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
And, now finally, a story of Love...
When Ed Beya was 22 years old he went for a dive in upstate NY and broke his neck. Nothing below his neck moved, he was confined to a wheelchair. He moved to New York City where he could get the proper care he needed. He had a full time 24 hour aide who helped him function, and on the morning of 9/11 she had set him up at his desk and gave him the mouth stick that he used to type. He was a computer programmer. He worked for Blue Cross an Blue Shield on the 27th floor of Tower 1, also known as the North Tower.
When the plane hit the north Tower at 8:46 AM Irma had gone up to the 43rd floor cafeteria to get some breakfast. By the time she got back Ed had made it to the stairwell landing, but could go no futher. The elevators no longer worked, and he would need to be carried down. But because of his delicate health situation, and the fact he weighed about 280 pounds from years of inactivity, it would take a couple people to carry him down the stairs. It would take 3 or 4 strong men to do it safely.
Irma saw that one of Ed's best friends and fellow co-worker, Abe Zelmanowitz , was with Ed on the 27th floor landing. Irma was having trouble breathing, so they sent her down, to get out of the building, and also to get help. "I'll stay with Ed" – Abe told her.
Then Abe called his brother Jack, with whom he lived, and who was at home, watching the tower burn on TV. Here's their conversation:
Abe: "We're getting ready to go. We're just waiting for assistance."
Jack: "Is everything okay? You know, you have to get out of there."
Abe: "Don't worry, I'm here with Ed. We're just waiting for medical help, and firemen will com and help us go down. Don't worry. Everything looks like it's going to be okay."
Abe and Ed forged an interesting friendship . One was catholic, the other jewish. One was handicapped, the other physically fit. They were cubicle mates . Right next to each other, separated by an aisle. They were both computer analysts / programmers. When they would go out to dinner, if Ed was in charge he made sure the food was kosher. If Abe was in charge he made sure the restaurant was wheelchair accessible.
They both had a love of books and music. Abe made Ed a special stand so he could read books while in bed. Abe also made Ed a special holder so he could smoke a cigar. It was that kind of friendship. Based upon work, but expanding outside the confines of 9 to 5. I know of many such friendships in this building as well. I think a majority can relate.
As Ed and Abe waited, they toured the 27th floor. They elevators, the stairwells, a boardroom. Someone broke up a vending machine and passed out Snaples and waters – firefighters poured the drinks over their heads. One fireman looked at Abe and told him the fire was so much higher, everything here will be OK, why don't you go. But Abe said, "No, I'm staying with my friend."
When the South Tower collapsed, Ed and Abe were still on the 27th floor, a disabled man and his friend, waiting. By this time Abe had turned down many suggestions that he leave Beya behind in the care of the firefighters. Now the firefighters were beginning to go back down from the 27th floor as the word went out to evacuate the North Tower. One firefighter didn't leave, a fellow batchelor like Ed and Abe, named William Burke.
And then just like the South Tower before it, the north tower starts to collapse. A survivor said it sounded like a bowling ball going down a staircase. It falls quickly. Ten floors a second. Over in less than 10 seconds. No one has come back to help Ed down to safely. Abe has not left his side. A true friend to the end. A man who loved his fellow man and gave all for him.
May his love give us love.
And now continuing on in Romans 5, verses 6-8:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So there you have it. Four stories from 9/11. Strength. Faith. Hope. Love. It's my prayer that our character grow in all of these attributes from these stories of 9/11. May the strength and faith and hope and love exhibited by Pat, and Todd, and Brian, and Abe be an example to us all.
But more importantly, may each of you grow in your walk with God, who loves each of you so much, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
