U.S. Naval War College (NWC) President Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, front, salutes alongside NWC Command Master Chief Abel Griego, center, and command chaplain Capt. Paul Tremblay, back, during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island,-based military institution on Sept. 11, 2025. Eleven students and alumni of the war college were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks on that day. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris)
The U.S. Naval War College held a remembrance ceremony Wednesday at its 9/11 Patriot Memorial to honor 11 students and alumni killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The college commemorated those who were among the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center towers in New York, crashed into the Pentagon and went down in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back.
“As we gather here, those old enough to recall that fateful day can vividly remember where we were and what we were doing when the attacks unfolded,” said Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, the college’s president, according to a Naval War College news release.
Walker was a student at the war college when the attacks occurred and was in class that day.
Ten of those honored were killed at the Pentagon, including Navy Capt. Gerald F. DeConto, a 1998 Naval War College graduate who was working in the Pentagon’s Navy Command Center when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. DeConto died along with 124 others inside the Pentagon.
An 11th alumnus, retired Navy Capt. John Yamnicky, 71, was among the passengers aboard Flight 77.
Family members of DeConto attended Wednesday’s ceremony, continuing a tradition of several years, according to the release.
The ceremony included readings of each victim’s name and history by Naval War College professor and retired Navy Capt. John Jackson, who coordinated the event. A bell rang after each person was recognized.
Walker and Command Master Chief Abel Griego also laid a wreath during the ceremony.
The other Naval War College students and alumni killed in the attacks were Navy Lt. Cmdr. Robert R. Elseth, 37; Navy Capt. Lawrence D. Getzfred, 57; Navy civilian Angela Marie Houtz, 27; Navy Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Jude Murphy, 38; Navy Lt. Jonas Martin Panik, 26; Jack D. Punches, 50, a retired Navy captain working at the Pentagon as a civilian; Navy Cmdr. Robert A. Schlegel, 38; Navy Cmdr. Dan F. Shanower, 40; and Army Lt. Col. Kip P. Taylor, 38.
U.S. Naval War College (NWC) President Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, front, salutes alongside NWC Command Master Chief Abel Griego, center, and command chaplain Capt. Paul Tremblay, back, during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island,-based military institution on Sept. 11, 2025. Eleven students and alumni of the war college were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks on that day. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris)Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, president of the U.S. Naval War College, delivers remarks during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island,-based military institution on Sept. 11, 2025. Eleven students and alumni of the war college were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks on that day. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris)U.S. Naval War College (NWC) President Rear Adm. Darryl Walker and NWC Command Master Chief Abel Griego salute after laying a wreath at the school’s 9/11 Patriot Memorial remembrance ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island,-based military institution on Sept. 11, 2025. Eleven students and alumni of the war college were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris)U.S. Naval War College Prof. John Jackson delivers remarks during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island,-based military institution on Sept. 11, 2025. Eleven students and alumni of the war college were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris)
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