
09/01/2025
On September 11, 2001, as hijacked planes turned the skies of America into scenes of horror, one womanâs final words cut through the chaos with extraordinary calm. Her name was Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, 38 years old, three months pregnant, and aboard United Flight 93.
Lauren had not even planned to be on that flight. She was returning home to California after her grandmotherâs funeral, arriving early at Newark Airport and switching to an earlier plane. She left a message for her husband, Jack, but he was still asleep on the West Coast. It would be the last routine call she ever made.
When the hijacking began at 9:28 a.m., confusion and fear rippled through the cabin. Dozens of passengers reached for phones, desperate to contact loved ones. In total, 37 calls were placed from Flight 93 that morningâsnapshots of human courage and heartbreak in real time.
Laurenâs call to her home answering machine remains one of the most haunting:
âWeâre having a little problem on the plane. Iâm totally fine. I love you more than anythingâjust know that.â
There was no panic in her voice, no desperationâonly love.
Moments later, her fellow passengers made the fateful decision to fight back against the hijackers, rushing the cockpit in a desperate attempt to regain control. Their bravery forced the plane down in a Pennsylvania field at 10:03 a.m., killing all 44 aboard but almost certainly saving the U.S. Capitol or the White House from destruction.
Lauren did not live to see her child, nor to grow old with her husband. But the message she left behind gave Jackâand the worldâa gift: proof that even in the face of terror, love can be the last word.
Today, her voicemail is remembered not only as a heartbreaking farewell but as an enduring act of grace. Flight 93 has become a symbol of defiance and sacrifice. And Laurenâs calm voice, preserved in time, is a reminder that history is not only written in acts of resistance, but in the tender final words we leave for those we love.
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