By Rebecca Rakoczy, Special To The Bulletin

ATLANTA—Chief Petty Officer Gregg Harold Small-wood had just moved into newly renovated offices at the Pentagon in August.

An information specialist technician with computer training, he worked on the first floor of the southwest side of the monolithic military building, sharing spacious quarters with dozens of military and civilian employees of the Navy Command Center.

Chief Petty Officer Smallwood was six months shy of retirement, after spending 19 and 1/2 years in the Navy. He and his wife, Lisa, and their three daughters were looking forward to moving to Texas when he retired in July 2002.

Instead, he will be buried with full military honors, including a posthumous Purple Heart, Saturday, Oct. 6, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Chief Petty Officer Smallwood was one of more than 180 people killed Sept. 11 after a hijacked American Airlines plane slammed into the Pentagon.

Chief Petty Officer Smallwood, 44, was the only sibling of Corpus Christi parishioner Laura Smallwood and the brother-in-law of her husband, Tommy Meers. He was the uncle of St. Thomas More School students Katherine and Aubrey Meers. The family lives in Stone Mountain.

“My brother went into the Navy after graduating from high school and that’s where he met Lisa,” said Laura Smallwood. “They were about 20 years old when they met, then they married and were stationed together in Guam.”

The couple had three daughters, Wendy, Valerie and Lynn.

Lisa left the military to raise their family. They moved frequently, having last been stationed in San Diego, Calif., before they moved to Naval apartment housing in Woodbridge, Va., where Gregg commuted daily to the Pentagon. Woodbridge was home for many of the Navy’s enlisted men and women.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Laura was the big sister to Gregg, but just by 18 months.

“I don’t remember that we had too much conflict when we were growing up and my parents told me I used to try to take care of him all the time,” Laura recalled.

Gregg joined the Navy in 1976, while Laura went off to veterinary school. He left the Navy briefly to work in the private sector, then re-enlisted, she said.

When it was announced that he was among the missing and presumed dead, the family received supportive calls from across the nation.

“He was a well-liked guy and people who had worked with him years ago called to talk about him,” Laura said.

The Navy has also been supportive of the Gregg Smallwood family, sending a member of their Casualty Assistance Calls Officers to their home in Woodbridge the night of Sept. 11 when it was determined that Gregg was among the missing.

“They had one of these officers who is of similar rank (to Gregg) go to Lisa’s in Virginia, and one who is seeing our parents in Kansas City,” Laura said.

They also helped Lisa expedite a funeral.

The same officer who told her that her husband was missing in the disaster has worked to protect Lisa and the family from media scrutiny and is helping her through bureaucratic paperwork that comes after a death, Laura said.

“But unfortunately, one of the issues now is because he was six months short of retirement, his wife is not eligible for pension benefits,” she added.

As an enlisted man, Gregg would have to apply for leave a year in advance, so it made it difficult for his family to visit their Georgia cousins often, Laura said. When they did visit, it was a lot of fun for her daughters, who enjoyed the company of her brother’s daughters.

“Maybe Gregg’s greatest accomplishment is that he had wonderful kids,” said Laura. His daughters are now all in high school. “Gregg’s biggest regret was he did not go to college,” Laura said.

That dream may be realized by at least one of his daughters. The Navy is paving the way for all those killed at the Pentagon to be eligible for appointments to military academies, if they are in good academic standing. Gregg’s daughter Lynn, a junior in high school, was already enrolled in the color guard in her high school ROTC program. She hopes to be able to get into the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Laura saved the last e-mail she got from her brother a month before he was killed. In it, he detailed his plans for his retirement in July 2002.

He wrote her: “Unfortunately, I am not planning to take any leave during the holidays. We begin the ‘Money Crunch’ September 2001. We have to save enough money for me to exit the Navy, move to Austin, Texas, and find jobs. The kids already know that it is going to be a ‘Poor Christmas’ but understand why. I am saving the rest of my leave for Retainment/Retirement to the Fleet Reserves. This will allow me to take 90-100 days’ leave. This will be what they call Terminal Leave. After my Retirement Ceremony I will start leave the next day. This will give us time to move, provide some money for bills and the necessities in life while searching for jobs. I will get some days off during the holidays. Take Care Always! Love, Gregg.”

The poignant note will remain a special reminder of her brother.

“Like all of us, Gregg had his strengths and weaknesses,” said Laura. “He made some bad decisions along with the good, but he always loved and took care of his family. His children are loving, caring and mature. Lisa, his wife, has been a pillar of strength and sanity for them through all this. Despite all the material things they did not have, it is clear that Gregg had a loving family and good life. Like so many people lost in this tragedy, he was just an average guy working hard every day toward a future he hoped to share with his family.”

The Meers traveled to Arlington for the funeral, their expenses covered by the Red Cross. When Gregg is buried, his gravesite will face the Pentagon.

A special fund has been set up through St. Thomas More School for the Smallwood family. Contributions may be made to The Gregg Smallwood Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 2258, Decatur, GA 30031-2258.