Sept. 11, 2001, marked the beginning of the
war against terrorism. But it also brought to a tragic end a
multitude of lives. Here, we honor those who died in the attack
on the Pentagon.
Ada Marie Davis, 57, worked as an accountant for the government for 31 years. She served at the Pentagon under the Secretary of the Army, Resource Management, for over six years and put off retirement twice to ensure that her successor was prepared for the job.
As the oldest of ten children, she helped her mother and father raise her younger brothers and sisters. Her creativity, patience, strong will, determination, love and vigor for life left its mark on everyone she encountered. She was a wife, a friend, a patriot, a leader, a godmother, a grandmother and a mother.
Survivors include her husband, Nolton Jr.; four children, Zenovia, Yolanda, Rosslyn and Christopher; three sisters and three brothers.
We will not forget her.
James Daniel Debeuneure
James Daniel Debeuneure,
58, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was a 5th grade teacher at Ketchum
Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
He earned a B.S. in psychology and education
at Johnson C. Smith University, and during his career worked
for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education, Celanese Corp.,
C&P Telephone, and the Army Times. He also co-owned an upholstery
and drapery shop. He was a member of First Baptist Church of
Highland Park.
Mr. Debeuneure loved to teach, and devoted
his time to sports, educational trips and student safety patrolling.
He enjoyed playing golf and collecting black art.
Survivors include his daughter, Jalin; two
sons, Jacques and DeForrest; and a brother.
We will not forget him.
Gerald F. DeConto
Capt. Gerald F.
DeConto, 44, was director of the current operations and plans
branch of the U.S. Navy Command Center. He was organizing the
Navy’s response to the World Trade Center attack when he
died in the plane crash at the Pentagon.
The son of a school teacher and a town building
inspector, DeConto earned a physics degree from the U.S. Naval
Academy, where he played rugby. He reported to the USS Excel
as a damage control assistant, later serving as engineering
officer and executive officer. He then became operations officer
on the USS Fresno.
After earning a Master’s degree in mechanical
engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,
Ca., he served as chief engineer on the USS Hewitt, then as
an aide to the assistant chief of naval operations for surface
warfare. He was named executive officer on the USS Lake Erie
in 1991. After that he was assistant operations officer for
Carrier Group 7. After earning a Master’s degree in national
security and strategic studies at the Naval War College, he
was commanding officer of the USS Simpson from 1998 to 2000,
and chief of staff for the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean.
He enjoyed sailing, running with his two dogs,
and giving his brothers pointers about coaching soccer. Survivors
include his mother, two brothers and two sisters.
We will not forget him.
Rodney Dickens
Rodney Dickens, 11, was in the sixth grade
at Ketcham Elementary School in Washington, D.C. On Sept.
11, he was traveling with a teacher on board American Airlines
Flight 77 to California.
Rodney grew up in tough Washington neighborhoods,
but he always made the honor roll. He loved reading, playing
computer games, playing with his siblings, and watching professional
wrestling on television. He was close to his mother, LaShawn,
who is raising the children with the help of her large extended
family.
Survivors include his mother, two sisters
and two brothers.
We will not forget him.
Jerry D. Dickerson
Army Lt. Col. Jerry D. Dickerson, 41, worked at the Pentagon on operations research and systems analysis. Dickerson lived with his wife, Page, and two children, Will, 11, and Beth, 15, in Springfield. He was born in Mississippi, studied economics at Mississippi State and received a Master's Degree in Engineering from Texas A&M University.
He started out in ROTC, then served in the National Guard and joined the Army in 1983, said his brother-in-law, David Dantzler.
He may not have been well-known among civilians, Dantzler said, "but he had an immediate impact on anybody he met along the way."
Eddie Dillard
Eddie Dillard, 54, was born in Alabama,
attended Tennessee State University, and earned a B.A. in
history from Bishop College.
His first job was with Southland Corp. in
Dallas. He later opened his own 7-Eleven store in East Palo
Alto, Ca., and then went to work for Phillip Morris, where
he retired in 1997 as a district manager after 19 years of
service.
In retirement he began a new career in real
estate, buying and selling property throughout the U.S. He
loved history, reading newspapers, and playing dominoes and
bid whist.
Survivors include his wife Rosemary; son
Edrick; two brothers and a sister.
We will not forget him.
Johnnie Doctor, Jr.
Johnnie Doctor, Jr., 32, was a U.S. Navy
information systems technician first class.
He was in the Navy 14 years, traveling from
Japan to Florida, Russia to Australia. When he returned from
far-flung ports, he’d always bring a T-shirt or other
mementos for his wife Andrea and his stepchildren Anthony
and Lydeda.
"He loved everything about the service,"
Andrea said. "It was his family, too." The couple
were married in 1995 and lived near Bolling Air Force Base
in Washington, D.C.
He had recently started criminology classes
at the University of the District of Columbia, with thoughts
of becoming a state trooper. "He was so full of life
and excited for what was about to come," said his wife.
We will not forget him.
Bob Dolan
Bob Dolan, 43, was strategy and concepts
branch head under the chief of naval operations at the Pentagon.
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he was commander
of the USS John Hancock by the age of 40. During his 20-year
Navy career, he served in Bahrain, the Arabian Gulf, the Adriatic
Sea and the Mediterranean, at various naval stations and on
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He earned a master’s degree from
the National War College and received several decorations,
including the Meritorious Service Medal.
He coached weekly Little League games for
his son and chaperoned school dances for his daughter. He
could quote Shakespeare and Monty Python in the same sentence.
He was equally comfortable commanding a billion-dollar ship
and chatting at the church picnic.
"Bob Dolan was the best and the brightest
this country had to offer to the altar of freedom," said
his wife Lisa.
Survivors include his wife, his son Beau
and his daughter Rebecca.
We will not forget him.
William H. Donovan
Commander William H. Donovan was an action officer
on the Navy Staff (Strategy and Concepts) at the Pentagon.
A 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy,
he served at NAS Whiting Field and NAS Corpus Christi, where
he was on the Commodore’s List for flight and academic excellence
and designated a naval aviator.
After flight training at NAS Jacksonville,
he served at NAS Brunswick and was deployed to Iceland and
Sicily, where he participated in Operation Desert Shield.
In 1995, he earned an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from
the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Ca., and was awarded
the Adm. William Adger Moffett Award (Aeronautics). He served
on the USS George Washington in Norfolk, Va., and qualified
as a tactical action officer and command duty officer in port.
In 1998, he served at NAS Whidbey Island
and was later deployed to Diego Garcia. In July, 2000, he
transferred to the Pentagon as an action officer on the Navy
Staff (Policy and Doctrine). In December he moved to Strategy
and Concepts.
He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps
Commendation Medal (two awards), the Navy and Marine Corps
Achievement Medal (three awards) and numerous unit ribbons.
Survivors include his wife Elaine; three
children; his parents; two brothers and two sisters.
We will not forget him.
Charles A. Droz
Charles Droz was vice president of software
development for EMSolutions, an Arlington, Va., firm.
Prior to joining EMSolutions, Mr. Droz spent
20 years in the U.S. Navy, where he developed high capacity
signal processors, multi-processor application software and
innovative signal processing algorithms. He engaged in system
engineering consulting, development of geographically distributed,
web-based systems, and development of an ARPA project demonstrating
rapid object-oriented application development through frameworks,
components, and application templates.
He earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering
from Grove City College and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering
from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
We will not forget him.
Patrick Dunn
Commander Patrick Dunn, 39, worked as a
planner and strategist in the Navy Command Center at the Pentagon.
The son of a Newark policeman, he came from
a Navy family. His father served in World War II and the Korean
War. CDR Dunn and one of his brothers were U.S. Naval Academy
graduates.
"Pat’s favorite thing was to be at
sea," said his wife Stephanie, who fondly remembers waving
the blue-and-gold Naval Academy flag from the roof of their
home in Italy when the USS LaSalle headed out to sea with
her husband, who was the ship's executive officer, on board.
"If the ship was rocking," she said, "he was
happy."
CDR Dunn was buried at Arlington National
Cemetery.
We will not forget him.
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