Army Pfc. Brandon D. Goodine, 20, died June 7, 2012, after his unit was attacked in Afghanistan. “He died for his daughter,” Goodine's sister Hailey McLaughlin says. “Yes, he loved his country, but ultimately it was for her.” SPECIAL TO AJC

Special to AJC

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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.

The original Sept. 11, 2001, front page of the Journal (left) vs. the day's first extra front after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. AJC PRINT ARCHIVES

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Brandon Goodine's sister, Hailey McLaughlin, says he wanted to become an Army Ranger. COURTESY OF HAILEY MCLAUGHLIN

Hailey McLaughlin / Special to AJC

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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.”

June 2012 -- Members of the Patriot Guard of Henry County stand in line at the entrance to the visitation at McDonough's Haisten Funeral Home for PFC Brandon Goodine. VINO WONG / VWONG@AJC.COM

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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.”

In 2001, President George W. Bush described Afghanistan as the 'first war of the 21st century.' 20 years later, the U.S. completely exited the nation. AJC PRINT ARCHIVES

AJC Print Archives

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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)

Airman 1st Class Kcey Ruiz of McDonough was was one six airmen killed when a C-130J Super Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, in Oct. 2015. FACEBOOK PHOTO

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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


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