25 Years after 9/11, Los Gatos remembers Flight 93 heroes Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham
The Los Gatos community came together Friday night to remember two residents taken in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham are nationally known for preventing UA flight 93 from reaching its intended target, the nation's Capitol.
There was a flyover above Helm Field in Los Gatos as the community remembered Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham. Lucy Wedemeyer clearly remembers that day and the emotions she felt on 9/11.
"It was so befuddling," Wedemeyer said. "You can't find words. To turn on the television and see what's going on. It was surreal. It was like someone had a weird movie on."
Wedemeyer's husband Charlie was a legendary football coach at Los Gatos High. She didn't know Beamer and Bingham personally, but was moved by the heroic actions of the two former Wildcats.
They were two of four passengers who teamed up to take back the cockpit from hijackers. The plane crashed into an empty field in Pennsylvania instead of its original target, suspected to be the White House or the Capitol.
When 9/11 happened, to hear that two Los Gatos grads were involved was heart-stopping," Wedemeyer said. "To think though of the courage they had, knowing they weren't going to make it out of there."
Those with the school handed out these shirts to fans attending Friday night's game and ceremony. On them were the last words by Beamer on UA Flight 93.
"It was Todd who famously uttered the words, 'Let's roll,' " Congressman Sam Liccardo. "When everybody was moved together to try to stop this peril that was certain to take everybody's life."
All the students in the stands weren't alive when 9/11 happened, but Superintendent Heath Rocha says it's important to teach a lesson to the kids about the actions of the former grads.
"That day, wt years ago, they defined in purest form what it means to be a wildcat," Superintendent Heath Rocha said. "They showed us courage in the absence of fear. Rather, what we choose to do when the moment demands something of us."
A plaque honoring the men was recently moved to the front of the school to make it more visible to the students. While 25 years have passed, Wedemeyer says it's a day she will always remember.
"To have the courage to say, 'Hey, we're going to do something here,' " she said. "It wasn't like we're going to be brave. We want people to remember but we have to make a difference."
