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Former USU student remembered

By Debra Hawkins

A memorial for those who were killed at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks, including former USU student Brady Howell, was dedicated Thursday, marking the seventh anniversary of the attacks.

According to the biography of Howell published by the Washington Post, Howell graduated from USU with a degree in political science before receiving a master’s of public administration from Syracuse University. After graduation, Howell obtain a position as a management intern for the chief of intelligence in the U.S. Navy, where he was working on Sept. 11 when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the iconic building.

In Howell’s biography, his wife Elizabeth Howell said one of her husband’s greatest ambitions was to be granted “high-level security clearance” while working for his nation.

“He strived to live his life in a manner consistent with those who are worthy of a nation’s trust and was granted his lifelong dream just several weeks before his death,” Elizabeth said. “Brady wore his many Pentagon and Navy clearance badges on a bright blue and yellow 1-800-USA-NAVY ribbon. It looked so tacky, and I would say, ‘Why not think about getting something more subtle, like a chain?’ He would respond, ‘I worked so hard to get here, and I am proud of what I do.’ He wore those clearance badges with a humble dignity, always conscious of the responsibility that accompanied them.”

According to his biography, 26-year-old Howell, grew up in Sugar City, Idaho, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and was the student body president of his high school before serving an LDS mission to the Canary Islands.

According to the a BYU-Idaho Alumni Association newsletter, Howell had always looked for ways to serve his country. He once sent the president of the United States a letter during his childhood offering the president Howell’s detective services if the country needed them. Howell was posthumously awarded the Superior Civilian Service Medal from the Chief of Naval Operations, which is the civilian equivalent of a purple heart.

“Although a generation older, I had worked with Brady in the Pentagon,” Bruce Powers, a coworker of Howell’s said on the tribute site legacy.com. “I was impressed by his dedication, enthusiasm, focus, smarts and wonder. I was luckier than Brady on 9/11. I walked home from the Pentagon that day and now I walk home every 9/11 to remember Brady and so many other fine Americans lost.”

According to Reuters, the memorial consists of 184 benches, one for each of the people who lost their lives at the Pentagon. It is the first permanent memorial to the Sept. 11 victims.

-debrajoy.h@aggiemail.usu.edu