[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 146 (Wednesday, November 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   JOHN D. YAMNICKY, SR.: IN MEMORIAM

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to share 
with the Senate the memory of Captain John D. Yamnicky, Sr., of 
Waldorf, Maryland, who lost his life on September 11, 2001. He was a 
passenger on American Airlines Flight 77. As we all know, that flight 
was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the Pentagon, killing 
everyone on board. Captain Yamnicky was a 71-year-old retired naval 
aviator who, since his retirement from the United States Navy in 1979, 
continued to work as a defense contractor for Veridian Engineering.
  Captain Yamnicky was a gentleman and a scholar. He graduated from the 
Naval Academy in 1952, and devoted a 26-year career in service to this 
country. He served a combat tour in Korea and served two tours in 
Southeast Asia flying from aircraft carriers. He earned several 
military honors, including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
  After graduating from the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, 
Maryland, in 1961, one of his first assignments was to determine the 
minimum acceptable airspeed for the A-4 aircraft after a catapult 
launch from an aircraft carrier. He was inducted into the Society of 
Experimental Test Pilots in recognition of his contributions. In 1963, 
after that honor, Captain Yamnicky reported to VA-146 at NAS in 
Lemoore, California.
  Captain Yamnicky met his wife, Jann, while she was working as a nurse 
at Jacksonville Naval Hospital. They married in 1959 and had four 
children. Their son John David, of California, said of his father, 
``This guy was the head of the family, he made everyone feel safe. If 
he ever talked about accomplishing something, it was as a group or a 
team. He was a modest man.''
  Friend and colleague, Dennis Plautz, commented that, ``John Yamnicky 
emphasized teamwork. His style was never to leave a teammate 
straggling, rather work with them, help them, encourage them to 
maximize their potential.''
  He applied this attitude in all areas of his life, including his 
community contributions. Captain Yamnicky served on the Board of 
Directors at his daughter Lorraine's high school, St. Mary's Academy, 
was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and the Elks Lodge. He was 
proud of his volunteer contributions to the De La Brooke Foxhounds Hunt 
Club, where he and Jann were members for 25 years.
  His best times were spent away from the office, riding on a tractor 
through the fields of his Waldorf horse farm. ``He loved being out 
there. His nature was not to stand around. He was always out in the 
fields, always working on something,'' remembers his son, John.
  Captain Yamnicky is survived by his wife Jann and their four 
children, John, Jr., Lorraine, Mark and Jennifer.
  Mr. President, none of us is untouched by the terror of September 
11th, 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 American who perished on that awful 
morning. I want to assure the family of Captain John D. Yamnicky, Sr., 
and the families of all the victims, that their fathers and mothers, 
sons and daughters, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters will not be 
forgotten.

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