[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 108 (Thursday, August 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7868-S7869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT B. PENNINGER

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
share with the Senate the memory of one of my constituents, Robert 
Penninger, who lost his life on September 11, 2001. Mr. Penninger was 
63 years old when the plane he was on, American Airlines Flight 77, was 
hijacked by terrorists. As we all know, that plane crashed into the 
Pentagon, killing everyone on board.
  Robert ``Bob'' Penninger grew up in Chicago, IL. He earned a Bachelor 
of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University and 
received a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern 
University. After graduating from college, he married his wife Janet 
and they raised their daughter, Karen, in Massachusetts. At the time of 
his tragic death, Bob was working as an electrical engineer for the 
defense contractor BAE Systems in Rancho Bernardo, CA, and was 
returning home from a business trip on September 11.
  Mr. Penninger lived life to the fullest and is greatly missed by all 
who knew him. His wife, Janet, recalls, ``Bob was always willing to 
help everyone he met. He was a great storyteller and he always had a 
smile on his face and a cheery hello for all.'' Mr. Penninger enjoyed 
motorcycle trips with his wife and friends. He also loved taking his 
1999 Electric Green Cobra Mustang convertible to car shows, where he 
won many trophies.
  Kit Young lived next door to Penninger for eight years and remarked, 
``Bob brought a lot of joy to this neighborhood. He developed a special 
relationship with my 11-year-old

[[Page S7869]]

grandson, Sean. He took my grandson to a car show in Los Angeles and 
they were planning another outing. A lot of people wouldn't care 
anything about an 11-year-old kid, but Bob did.''
  None of us is untouched by the terror of September 11, and many 
Californians were part of each tragic moment of that tragic day. Some 
were trapped in the World Trade Center towers. Some were at work in the 
Pentagon. And the fates of some were sealed as they boarded planes 
bound for San Francisco or Los Angeles.
  I offer today this tribute to one of the 51 Californians who perished 
on that awful morning. I want to assure the family of Robert Penninger, 
and the families of all the victims, that their fathers and mothers, 
sons and daughters, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters will not be 
forgotten.

                          ____________________