It took Tom Burnett's children 20 years before they could visit the memorial in a Pennsylvania field, marking the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after a group of passengers stood up to the hijackers in an attempt to take control of the plane. Tom was among that small group, and his wife, Deena, told MPR News: "When he told me that he was going to do something, that everything would be okay and he was coming home that night, I had no reason not to believe him."
Placing a series of four phone calls to her between 6:27 and 6:54, Tom started by telling her that the plane he was on was hijacked, and a passenger had been killed. Deena said other planes had been hijacked as well, and recalled Tom's realization that they had been caught in the midst of a suicide mission. During the third phone call, Deena believed for a moment that he had survived the Pentagon crash, and the fourth would be their final conversation.
According to a transcript of that final phone call (via the Tom Burnett Family Foundation), Tom explained, "We can't wait for the authorities. I don't know what they could do anyway. It's up to us. I think we can do it." She asked what she could do, and he responded with, "Pray, Deena, just pray." When she told him that she loved him, he answered, "Don't worry, we're going to do something," before hanging up the phone.
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