Morning clouds disappeared and the sun shone on Todd Beamer High School as students gathered Friday to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and those who lost their lives that day.
The Federal Way high school is named after Beamer, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 who became a household name after the attacks.
He's credited with shouting, "Let's roll," before a group passengers forced their way into the cockpit and disrupted hijackers who are believed to have intended to crash the jet into either the White House or the Capitol.
Instead, the plane crashed near Somerset, Pa., 20 minutes away from Washington, D.C.
On Friday, about 2,000 people, including students, school staff members and dignitaries, assembled on the football field of the Beamer's namesake school, which has an enrollment of more than 1,800.
"They're never going to forget all the people who died," said senior Nathan Ceney, who attended Lakeland Elementary School on Sept. 11, 2001. "I thought it was a movie or something on TV. Who in their right minds would crash into two magnificent towers?"
Federal Way Mayor Skip Priest encouraged the students to not live their lives in fear. He quoted President Franklin D. Roosevelt: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The power to resist fear, however, is in each one of you."
Tears rolled down some faces when Deputy Chief Gordie Olson of the South King County Fire and Rescue spoke of the emotions he and other firefighters felt when they realized how many colleagues died on 9/11.
His agency brought back a beam from one of the World Trade Centers. It was on display at the school Friday and will reside permanently at fire station 64 next year.
"It truly surprises me how much emotions range from the artifact," Olson said.
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps presented campus principal Randy Kaczor with an American flag engraved with the names of those who lost their lives because of the 9/11 events, including Todd Beamer.
The school will receive a rock from the crash site in Pennsylvania. Kaczor said a memorial will be built to display the rock and the American flag.
Students in Federal Way's junior high schools voted in 2003 to name the new high school after Beamer to honor his act of heroism.
Other names in the running were good, but none was as unique as Beamer, said Jonathan Gillies, a former student at the high school.
Choosing the name became a political issue, recalled Carol Eberhart, former principal of the school.
Members of the school board initially were hesitant to name the school after Beamer because they knew little about him, aside from what the media had reported.
"The students' voices were strong and adamant about the name Todd Beamer," Eberhart said. "The board bowed to the students' voices."
Staff members at the school said they feel students and the board made the right decision.
"We're really proud of the name," Kaczor said. "As time goes on, the prouder I am."
Students have found ways to keep Todd Beamer's memory alive.
"When the baseball team breaks, rather than saying, 'Team,' they shout, 'Todd,'" said Jerry Peterson, the school's athletic director.
Though the school embraces Beamer's name, the phrase associated with him is seldom used.
"We were very careful to not commercialize 'Let's roll,'" Eberhart said.
The school has developed close ties with Beamer's parents, David and Peggy.
They've visited the school twice and David Beamer spoke at the first graduation in 2005.
"It was a great experience," said Josh Garcia, former principal of the school. "They were willing to sit down and talk to people, to answer questions about Todd."
The goodwill has gone both ways, said Tom Murphy, former superintendent of the school district.
"(David Beamer) took some solace in the fact the actions of his son were honored in this way," Murphy said. "He was genuinely touched that the school was named after his son."
Stephanie Kim: 253-597-8692
stephanie.kim@thenewstribune.com
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