Credit: Special to AJC
Credit: Special to AJC
Note: This story has been updated to reflect that two non-residents from Georgia, Maj. Cole Hogan of Macon and Adam White of Buckhead, were killed on Sept. 11.
There was a time when Sept. 11 was just another day on the calendar. That changed the brutal morning in 2001 when 2,977 people were killed by terrorist hijackers who slammed commercial airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
War called and America’s young people answered, eventually fighting on two fronts simultaneously. In the 20 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, 7,054 U.S. servicemen and women were killed on battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Four Georgia residents and two non-residents from the state were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks; another 220 died in military service trying to make sure another terrorist attack didn’t happen again.
Army Private First Class Brandon Goodine, 20, was one of them. Goodine, a graduate of Henry County High, died June 7, 2012, after his unit was attacked in Afghanistan. When a fellow soldier stepped on a pressure plate-engaged improvised explosive device, Goodine attempted to help him and was killed by another IED.
Credit: Hailey McLaughlin / Special to AJC
Credit: Hailey McLaughlin / Special to AJC
Goodine’s younger sister Hailey McLaughlin remembers her brother as a prankster who enjoyed playing jokes on their mother (who returned the favor). When it came to JROTC, however, Goodine was absolutely serious.
“JROTC was something he took pride in,” McLaughlin said Thursday. “Brandon would come home and perfectly align the pins and ribbons on his uniform, shine his shoes. He’d ask me or our mom to make sure his pants were creased just right and he laid out his uniform the night before he’d wear it to school.”
Joining the Army after high school, Goodine was assigned to Bravo Troop, 73rd Cavalry of the 82nd Airborne.
“The first plane he was ever in, he jumped out of. He was terrified of airplanes, but for some reason he wanted to jump out of them,” McLaughlin recalls. “He was a goofball. And he was a great kid.”
McLaughlin admits she didn’t fully realize just how potentially deadly her brother’s mission was at the time.
“I knew he was in a war zone overseas,” she says. “But I didn’t know it was that dangerous until it hit home.”
Credit: vwong@ajc.com
Credit: vwong@ajc.com
In the near 10 years since Goodine’s death, his family mourns his loss but never forgets to celebrate his life. Still, it’s been a difficult journey, his sister points out.
“I had just graduated high school in May 2012. Ten days afterward, Brandon died,” McLaughlin remembers. “My mom was planning his funeral on her birthday.”
Credit: AJC Print Archives
Credit: AJC Print Archives
Maynard Spence of Douglasville, a construction safety consultant for Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc., died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
In a Sept. 19, 2001, article profiling Georgians who lost family members in the initial attacks, AJC staff writer Maurice Tamman detailed how Spence’s daughter, Kristina, “had grown accustomed to her father flying from Atlanta to Tampa to surprise her on her birthday.”
“Ever since (she was) born they’ve had a daddy-daughter birthday and he has not missed one,” Spence’s ex-wife, Sheila, said. “She’s expecting him to head here and surprise her. She said, ‘It would be just like daddy to do this and not tell us he was OK.”
Kristina Spence turned 20 shortly after Tamman’s piece ran in the paper. But her father wasn’t there.
>> MORE DEJA NEWS: Check out what we’ve covered before (and again)
October 2015 brought devastating news to Michael Ruiz of McDonough. His daughter, Airman 1st Class Kcey Ruiz, 21, was among six airmen killed when a C-130J Super Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan.
“It’s unbelievable, she was supposed to come home at the end of this month,” her father told Channel 2 Action News at the time.
“Ruiz was stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and left for Afghanistan in April,” reporter Alexis Stevens wrote in the AJC. “(Her father visited her) in Boston and planned to see her in six months.”
“I didn’t say goodbye, I didn’t want to say goodbye,” Michael Ruiz said. “I just told her I would see her later and I never got that chance.”
>> TIMELINE: 9/11: America’s deadliest terror attack
Georgians killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks
Claude Michael Gann, 41, Roswell, sales executive, Algorithmics, died in World Trade Center attacks
Maynard S. Spence Jr., 42, Douglasville, construction safety consultant, Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., died in World Trade Center attacks
Harshad Sham Thatte, 30, Norcross, consultant at Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., died in World Trade Center attacks
Maj. Stephen V. Long, 39, Georgia (no city listed), U.S. Army, died in Pentagon attack
Maj. Wallace Cole Hogan Jr., 39, Macon, U.S. Army, died in Pentagon attack (non-resident from Georgia)
Adam White, 26, Buckhead, died in World Trade Center attacks (non-resident from Georgia)
Georgians who died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
ADDISON, JAMAAL RASHARD, 22, CONYERS
AITKEN, TRISTAN NEIL, 31, SAVANNAH
ALDAY, ZACHARY MATHEW, 22, DONALDSONVILLE
ALECKSEN, ERICA PAIGE, 21, EATONTON
ALLMAN, DANIEL JOSEPH II, 20, CANON
ANDERSON, BRUSHAUN XAVIOUR, 20, COLUMBUS
ANDERSON, VICTOR ANTHONIO, 39, ELLAVILLE
ARDRON, BRIAN DANIEL, 32, ACWORTH
AYERS, JONATHAN RYAN, 24, SNELLVILLE
BAEZ, MIGUEL ANGEL III, 32, BONAIRE
BAILEY, LAKESHIA MESHA, 23, COLUMBUS
BARTLETT, BENJAMIN BLAKE JR, 25, MANCHESTER
BEALE, JOHN CURTIS, 39, RIVERDALE
BLAIR, JOHN DAVID, 38, CALHOUN
BLANTON, JEFFERY STEVEN, 23, FAYETTEVILLE
BOONE, CHRISTOPHER KERMIN, 34, AUGUSTA
BOWDEN, JOSHUA JAMES, 28, VILLA RICA
BROOKS, WILLIAM JEROME, 30, HINESVILLE
BROWN, MENELEK MARTEL, 24, EAST POINT
BROWN, TYLER HALL, 26, ATLANTA
BRUNSON, JACQUES EARL, 30, AMERICUS
BURAS, MICHAEL JOHN, 23, FITZERALD
CAMPO-SILES, MARVIN ANTONIO, 25, AUSTELL
CARDENAS, EDGAR ENRIQUE, 34, LILBURN
CHAMBERS, WILLIAM CRAIG, 20, RINGGOLD
CHAMROEUN, JAMES, 20, UNION CITY
CHANDLER, JEREMY ALAN, 30, RICHMOND HILL
CHAVERS, BROCK HENRY, 25, BULLOCH
CHEVALIER, BRIAN LUTHER, 21, ATHENS
CHIHUAHUA, SHANNON, 25, THOMASVILLE
CHISHOLM, TYRONE LANARD, 27, SAVANNAH
CLAYTON, HAYES JR, 29, MARIETTA
CLAYTON, HILDA IVELIS, 22, AUGUSTA
COLEMAN, CHAD DEREK, 20, MORELAND
COLES, DOMINIC RASHAD, 25, JESUP
COLLINS, DAVID SAMUEL, 24, JASPER
COLLINS, ROBERT WILSON, 24, TYRONE
COURTNEY, KELLEY LANCE, 28, MACON
CROCKETT, MICHAEL TYRON, 27, SOPERTON
CROCKETT, RICKY LEON, 37, BROXTON
DAMERON, JOEL PRESTON, 27, ELLABELL
DANIEL, MONTERRIOUS TRAVELLE, 19, GRIFFIN
DAVIS, JOHNATHON FRANK, 20, GRIFFIN
DENNIS, JACOB ANTHONY, 22, POWDER SPRINGS
DICKENS, TYLER JOE, 20, COLUMBUS
DICKERSON, CHRISTOPHER MASON, 33, ATLANTA
DINGLER, JOSHUA PAUL, 19, HIRAM
DODSON, PHILIP ALLAN JR, 42, FORSYTH
DOMINGUEZ, CARLOS, 57, SAVANNAH
DOWNER, MARK JORDON, 23, WARNER ROBINS
EDGERTON, MARSHALL LANE, 27, ROCKY FACE
EDWARDS, AMOS COLLINS JR, 41, SAVANNAH
ELAM, GREGORY LOWELL, 39, COLUMBUS
ELLIS, JAMES DARREN, 25, VALDOSTA
ESTOPINAL, JASON HILL, 21, DALLAS
FAULKNER, JEREMY PAT, 23, GRIFFIN
FELIX, GLADE L, 52, LAKE PARK
FLEMING, SCOTT JOSEPH, 24, MARIETTA
FONSECA, JESUS, 19, MARIETTA
FORDE, OMAR WILFRED, 28, MARIETTA
FRANKLIN, BOBBY CHARLES, 38, MINERAL BLUFF
FREEMAN, BENJAMIN LEE, 19, VALDOSTA
FREEMAN, MATTHEW CHARLES HAYS, 29, RICHMOND HILL
FRENCH, ALEX IV, 31, MILLEDGEVILLE
FULLER, CARL RAY, 44, COVINGTON
FUTRELL, MARCUS SHAWN, 20, MACON
GANEY, JERRY LEWIS JR, 29, FOLKSTON
GIBBS, MATHEW VINCENT, 21, AMBROSE
GIESE, JOSEPH RYAN, 24, WINDER
GILBERT, KYLE EUGENE, 24, BUFORD
GILLICAN, CHARLES CRUM III, 35, BRUNSWICK
GLUFF, JAMES MICHAEL, 20, TUNNEL HILL
GOMEZ, DANIEL ENRIQUE, 21, WARNER ROBINS
GOODINE, BRANDON DWAYNE, 20, LUTHERVILLE
GOODWIN, ROBERT STACEY, 35, ALBANY
GRAY, WALTER DAVID, 38, CONYERS
GRESHAM, GENESIA MATTRIL, 19, LITHONIA
HAGGIN, JONATHON CHRISTOPHER, 26, KINGSLAND
HARDEGREE, MICHAEL CHRISTOPH, 21, VILLA RICA
HARKINS, JASON ROBERT, 25, CLARKESVILLE
HARPER, SCOTT DANIEL, 21, WINSTON
HARRIS, BLAKE MCKENZIE, 27, HAMPTON
HARRIS, NOAH, 23, ELLIJAY
HART, NATHANIEL JR, 29, VALDOSTA
HAY, DENNIS PATRICK, 32, VALDOSTA
HELTON, JOSEPH DENNIS JR, 24, MONROE
HENDERSON, JOHN MCKENZIE JR, 21, COLUMBUS
HOBBS, THERON VONDAMEIR, 22, ALBANY
HOLLAND, CHRISTOPHER JAMES, 26, BRUNSWICK
HOLLAR, ROBERT LEE JR, 35, GRIFFIN
HOLMES, DAVID ALEXANDER, 34, TENNILLE
HOLMES, MIGUEL LORENZO, 22, HINESVILLE
HOLT, ANTOINE JERMAINE, 20, KENNESAW
HUBBELL, DARREN PATRICK, 38, TIFTON
HUSTON, MATTHEW DAVID, 24, ATHENS
JARRETT, JUSTIN ROBERT, 21, JONESBORO
JENRETTE, KEVIN MICHAEL, 37, LULA
JERNIGAN, WILLIAM KEITH, 35, DORAVILLE
JOHNSON, EDWIN WAYNE JR, 31, COLUMBUS
JOHNSON, ISAAC LEE JR, 24, COLUMBUS
JOHNSON, JUSTIN WEAVER, 22, ROME
JOHNSON, NATHANIEL HENRY, 22, AUGUSTA
JOHNSON, RAYMON LEE ALLEN, 22, MIDLAND
JOHNSON, STEPHEN FRANKLIN, 20, MARIETTA
JONES, DAVID RANDALL SR, 45, AUGUSTA
JORDAN, JEFFREY WILLIAM, 21, ROME
JORDAN, MICHAEL ANTHONY, 35, AUGUSTA
KENEFICK, AARON MICHAEL, 30, ROSWELL
KIM, KUN YOUNG, 20, ATLANTA
KINCAID, KENNETH ELLSWORTH IV, 25, LILBURN
KING, JERRY RYEN, 19, BOWERSVILLE
KING, RYAN CHARLES, 22, DALLAS
KINLOW, JAMES ONDRA, 35, THOMSON
KLINESMITH, JOHN KEVIN JR, 25, STOCKBRIDGE
KORN, JASON EDWARD, 31, SAVANNAH
LAMIE, GENE LAVELLE, 25, HOMERVILLE
LANGARICA, VICTOR MANUEL, 29, DECATUR
LARGE, SAMUEL WAYNE JR, 21, VILLA RICA
LAWSON, ERIC TIMOTHY SR, 30, GRIFFIN
LEE, THOMAS EDWARD III, 20, DALTON
LEE, WESTON CECIL, 25, BLUFFTON
LIGHTFOOT, ANTHONY MARQUIS, 20, RIVERDALE
LONG, WILLIAM ALFRED, 26, LILBURN
LOPEZ, JUAN, 22, DALTON
LUCAS, JOSEPH ALAN, 23, AUGUSTA
LUMPKIN, JOHNNY WAYNE, 38, COLUMBUS
MALCOM, DAN THOMAS JR, 25, BRINSON
MARSHALL, EVAN ANDREW, 21, ATHENS
MARSHALL, RANDELL TONY, 22, FITZGERALD
MARTIN, VERNON WILLIAM, 25, SAVANNAH
MAYNE, KENNETH WILLIAM, 29, FORT BENNING
MCBRIDE, CHESTER JAMICHEAL, 30, STATESBORO
MCCLOSKEY, SHAWN PATRICK, 33, PEACHTREE CITY
MCCOY, STEVE AARON, 23, MOULTRIE
MCDONALD, JASON ANDREW, 28, BUTLER
MCGEE, JOHN EDWARD, 36, COLUMBUS
MCLENDON, DAVID BLAKE, 30, THOMASVILLE
MCSWEEN, JOSEPH ADAM, 26, VALDOSTA
MEADOWS, COLMAN JOSEPH III, 19, SENOIA
MERCARDANTE, LUKE JOHN, 35, ATHENS
MERCER, CHAD MICHAEL, 25, WAYCROSS
MERCK, DENNIS PAUL, 38, EVANS
MILLS, ADRIAN GLYN, 23, NEWNAN
MONTGOMERY, MICHAEL PATRICK, 36, SAVANNAH
MOORE, BENJAMIN JR, 43, WAYCROSS
MORALES, RAYMUNDO PORRAS, 34, DALTON
MURPHY, ETIENNE JULES, 22, LOGANVILLE
NATHAN, JASON DORIAN, 22, MACON
NELSON, GARY LEE III, 20, WOODSTOCK
NUTT, DAVID TERRELL, 32, BLACKSHEAR
O’BRYANT, MATTHEW JAMES, 22, DULUTH
PARSON, LONNIE JAMES, 39, NORCROSS
PATTON, CHRISTOPHER GABRIEL, 21, LAWRENCEVILLE
PATTON, JAMES RICHARD, 23, FORT BENNING
PAULEY, JAICIAE LONDON, 29, AUSTELL
PENEY, JONATHAN KELLY LEE, 22, MARIETTA
PHILLIPS, MATTHEW BRITTEN, 27, JASPER
PINKSTON, FOSTER, 47, WARRENTON
POUGH, PARIS SHAWN, 40, COLUMBUS
POVILAITIS, ALEXANDER GEORGE JR, 47, DAWSONVILLE
QUILL, RICHARD OSCAR III, 22, ROSWELL
REEVES, JOSHUA HARRISON, 26, WATKINSVILLE
REICH, STEPHEN CHARLES, 34, SAVANNAH
RICHARDS, WILLIAM TAYLOR, 20, TRENTON
RINCON, DIEGO FERNANDO, 19, CONYERS
ROBERTS, EDGAR NATHANIEL JR, 39, HINESVILLE
RODGERS, CHRISTOPHER BLAKE, 20, GRIFFIN
ROJAS-GALLEGO, CRISTIAN, 24, LOGANVILLE
RUDD, KEITH FREEMAN, 36, WINDER
RUIZ, KCEY ELENA, 21, MCDONOUGH
SALIE, DAVID JAMES, 34, COLUMBUS
SAYLOR, PAUL ANTHONY, 21, NORCROSS
SCARBOROUGH, MICHAEL PHILIP, 28, WASHINGTON
SCOTT, BRICE MURRILL, 22, FORT BENNING
SCOTT, JOSHUA ADAM, 24, TUNNEL HILL
SCOTT, RICKEY, 30, COLUMBUS
SHARP, CHARLES SETH, 20, ADAIRSVILLE
SHELLEY, RONNIE LEE SR, 34, VALDOSTA
SHIELDS, JONATHAN BERNARD, 25, ATLANTA
SINGLETARY, CHANNING GARRETT, 30, SYLVESTER
SMITH, JONATHAN KENA, 19, ATLANTA
SMITH, STEFAN MARC, 24, GLENNVILLE
SOCKALOSKY, STEPHEN COTY, 21, CORDELE
SPATES, COREY EMMETT, 21, LAGRANGE
STAGGS, AUSTIN GARRETT, 19, SENOIA
STOKELY, MICHAEL JAMES, 23, SHARPSBURG
STRANGE, WILLIAM RODRIQUES III, 19, ADRIAN
STRICKLAND, JOSHUA JACOB, 23, WOODSTOCK
STRICKLAND, THOMAS JAMES, 27, DOUGLASVILLE
SUTTON, STEVEN GENE, 24, LEESBURG
TABB, DONALD THERRONNIE, 29, NORCROSS
TANNER, JOHN COREY, 21, COLUMBUS
TATE, SHELDON LEON, 27, HINESVILLE
TAYLOR, CYNTHIA RENEA, 39, COLUMBUS
TAYLOR, WILLIAM GRADY, 26, MACON
TENNEY, ROBERT GREGORY JR, 29, WARNER ROBINS
THIGPEN, THOMAS RUEL SR, 52, AUGUSTA
THOMAS, JOHN FRANK, 33, VALDOSTA
TRAVIS, PHILIP LAMAR, 41, SNELLVILLE
TURPIN, EMORY JASON, 23, DAHLONEGA
TYLER, CORRY PAUL, 29, WOODBINE
WALKER, JEFFREY DAVIS, 21, MACON
WALSH, JONATHAN PATRICK, 28, ACWORTH
WARREN, CHARLES HOUGHTON, 36, DULUTH
WARREN, KRISTOPHER CODY, 19, RESACA
WASHINGTON, BENNIE JAMES, 25, ATLANTA
WATTS, DONOVAN EARL, 46, ATLANTA
WHEELOUS, DEXTER EUGENE, 37, ATLANTA
WHITAKER, MARQUIS ANTOINE, 20, COLUMBUS
WHITEHEAD, SHAUN JEFFREY, 24, COMMERCE
WHITLOCK, NICHOLAS SCHADE, 29, NEWNAN
WILLIAMS, BRIAND THELONIUS, 25, SPARKS
WILSON, JERRY LEE, 45, THOMSON
WILSON, STEPHEN J, 28, DULUTH
WIMPEY CAGLE, JOHN ROBERT, 19, TUCKER
WORTHINGTON, ROBERT ADRIAN, 19, JACKSON
YAHUDAH, BENYAHMIN BEN, 24, BOGART
YOUNG, JOHN JOSEPH, 24, SAVANNAH
YOUNG, MITCHELL WAYNE, 39, JONESBORO
YOUNGBLOOD, TRAVIS LEVY, 26, SURRENCY
ABOUT DEJA NEWS
In this series, we scour the AJC archives for the most interesting news from days gone by, show you the original front page and update the story.
If you have a story you’d like researched and featured in AJC Deja News, send an email with as much information as you know. Email: malbright@ajc.com. Use the subject line “AJC Deja News.”
