Trio Working to Ease Pain for Others Died at Pentagon

Among the many cruel ironies buried in the stories of those killed, injured or missing in Tuesday’s attacks, there is this twist:

At least four of those killed when American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon were attending a meeting to discuss ways to improve the system for getting survivor benefits to family members of military personnel.

Gerald P. Fisher, Terence M. Lynch and Ernest M. Willcher--all employees of the international consulting firm Booz, Allen & Hamilton--had gone to the Pentagon for a meeting with Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel. Here are the stories of the three civilians:

Gerald P. Fisher

“Geep” Fisher--the nickname came from his initials, GP, and started in childhood--had been looking forward to his son Jonathan’s wedding, scheduled for Sept. 23. Now the nuptials have been postponed while the Fisher family tries to cope with its loss.

“He was a tremendous, tremendous person,” said Alexis Radoca, 29, Jonathan Fisher’s fiancee. “He was optimistic and joyful; a great prankster. And he took care of his family, either financially or through humor. If you had a problem, you could always go to him, and he’d help you work through it. One of the hardest parts of all this is that there’s no one to go to now.”

He started a pre-Thanksgiving potluck dinner tradition when he was “single”--between his first and second marriages--which endured throughout the 17 years he was married to his second wife, Christine. More than 100 people would show up, each bringing something, while he cooked at least three turkeys.

A sports fan, Fisher worked 12-hour days, and he would come home on the weekends and watch tennis and football on television, Radoca said.

Fisher, 57, lived in Potomac, Md., and had worked at Booz Allen for 14 years. He was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles. His mother, Muriel, lives in San Diego, and a sister, Elsa, lives in Long Beach. He also leaves a daughter, Serena Dugan.

He was a graduate of San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University) and received degrees from the California State University system in social welfare and from the University of Pennsylvania in city planning. He also received a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in social welfare.

He worked six years as an associate professor at the universities of Texas and Wisconsin.

“Everyone was charmed by Geep,” said Joyce Doria, a senior vice president at Booz Allen. “He was a person who could always convince you that something was doable. He always had some crazy story, and he was always there for someone with a problem. People adored him.”

Ernie Willcher

Ernie Willcher, 62, of North Potomac, Md., retired in April after 25 years as a civilian employee of the Pentagon--but still returned there several days a week after he was hired by Booz Allen five months ago.

“He was having a great time there for the last couple of months,” said his son, Ben, 20, a junior at the University of Maryland studying government and politics. “They hired him specifically because of his Pentagon sources, and he was still back there a lot for meetings and briefings.

“He was in the wrong place, at the very wrong time.”

Willcher was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Maryland suburbs, earning a business degree from the University of Maryland and a law degree from American University.

When he worked for the military, he was a specialist with the Army Map Service at Walter Reed Medical Center and Ft. Detrick, Md., and worked for the Army General Counsel at the Pentagon.

“He was dedicated to two things: One was work and the other was his family,” Ben Willcher said.

Ernie and Shirley Willcher were married 23 years. Another son, Joel, 17, is a senior in high school.

“Ernie had a lot of experience as an attorney in the government, and he knew the legal issues around a lot of complex problems in the Army,” Doria said. “He brought an experience base of many years to our company. He was always contributing to the team and was a good mentor for others on the staff.”

Terry Lynch

Terry Lynch, 49, was going to be promoted this week, and his colleagues aren’t even sure that he knew about it. “The package about his promotion had just moved up to the next level,” Doria said. “He was a rising star.”

He had been with the company two years, having worked more than 15 years for Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.). “His life should not have ended in this unfortunate and premature manner,” Shelby said in a statement.

Lynch was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up the son of a steel factory administrator. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at Youngstown State University, where he met his future wife, Jackie. They were married in 1977.

He began his Capitol Hill career working as an aide for former Rep. Albert Lee Smith (R-Ala.), and joined Shelby’s staff in 1983 as a legislative assistant for military affairs.

“He worked closely with the military personnel and the defense industry in Alabama, dutifully representing their concerns,” Shelby said. “Terry’s passion for helping others, especially the men and women in uniform . . . was always evident over the course of his career.”

Shelby said Lynch led efforts on his staff to understand and deal with the Persian Gulf War syndrome, and was instrumental in efforts to relocate the Aviation and Troop Command from St. Louis to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., bringing 2,000 jobs to the area. He also helped draft legislation establishing a National Institutes of Health research program on juvenile rheumatic diseases.

He made the transition from the Hill to Booz Allen with ease, Doria said, adding: “He was one of these really hard-working, dependable people who can operate in multiple environments.”

Lynch and his wife had two daughters, Tiffany Marie and Ashley Nicole.