Station HYPO

By Dan Force

Twenty-five years ago, this evening…September 10th, 2001…I was onboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), in our homeport, Naval Station Mayport/Jacksonville, Florida, for my regular duty day. That meant that I’d be spending the night on the ship with the rest of the duty section. The ship was scheduled to get underway at slack tide early the next morning, September 11th, and head south to the Puerto Rican Operations Area (PROA) for routine pre-deployment training for the ship’s upcoming deployment in early 2002.

Listed below are members of the Information Warfare Community who made the ultimate sacrifice during combat operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), or who lost their lives while supporting GWOT operations. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”— John 15:13

The images are presented in the same order as the names listed below.

Listed below are members of the Information Warfare Community who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Born December 13, 1961, 39 years old

Gerard P. “Jerry” Moran, 39, of Upper Marlboro, traveled the world as a combat photographer for the Navy between 1979 and 1984.

Born 1962, 38 years old

LCDR “Vince” Tolbert was born in Tennessee in September 1962. Following his very successful athletic performance at Lemoore High School, he was awarded a football scholarship to Fresno State University. Graduating from Fresno State in 1985 with a degree in Criminal Justice, he was commissioned an Ensign at Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island in 1989.

Born November 29, 1979, 21 years old

In the picture window of his Newark, Delaware home, he and his wife, Sheila, have hung their son Matthew’s Navy dress blues and his pea coat. There are photos of him in his Little League uniform, and the gold medal from his baseball team’s 1996 championship season.