Michael Scott Lamana – Lieutenant, United States Navy

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Michael ‘Scott’ Lamana
Attack Location: Pentagon
Age: 31
Home: Alexandria, Virginia

Michael “Scott” Lamana, 31, a Navy lieutenant and flight officer, rarely rested.

By day, he helped monitor the operations of the Navy’s global fleet from his post in the Pentagon’s Navy Command Center.

By night, he attended classes at the University of Maryland — he expected to receive his MBA in December. In between, he worked out with friends in the Pentagon’s gym or helped friends with projects at work or home.

“He loved his job. He loved the military,” said his father, Jay “Mike” Lamana, who kept vigil with other family members this week at his son’s house in Alexandria.

The family received a visit from Navy officers who said Michael Lamana was among those missing after the attack on the Pentagon.

“We don’t know anything,” said Lamana’s wife, Lorna. “We just keep saying, ‘He was a good man, a good Navy man.’ “

Lamana, one of three siblings, grew up in Baton Rouge, Lousiana, and graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1992. He attended naval flight training school in Pensacola, Florida, in 1993-94. While in Florida, he completed MBA preparatory courses at the University of West Florida.

His family’s Navy tradition includes a World War II veteran and a Navy SEAL.

Armed with his MBA, Lamana hoped to enter a new phase. “He was just getting into a good part of his life,” his father said. “Everything was just going really well for him.”

— Jennifer Lenhart

Baton Rouge man killed Sept. 11 honored
Memorial service held for Navy Lt. ‘Scotty’ Lamana

Thirty-one-year-old Navy Lieutenant Michael Scott Lamana’s life ended abruptly
on September 11, 2001.

Lamana was working his usual job at the Pentagon as a briefer for the Chief of
Naval Operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the terrorists struck.

About 900 people gathered Monday evening for a memorial service at St. Aloysius in Lamana’s honor. Friends and family members are still grieving over his death, but say they believe his memory will remain with them for a lifetime.

Pastor Gerald Burns said “Scotty” made a deep impression on anyone who knew him.

“He was a cheerful person who had a hopeful outlook on life,” he said.

Lamana, born in Baton Rouge, was a 1988 graduate of Catholic High School. He graduated from LSU with a bachelor of science degree in political science and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in December 1992.

He was buried October 9, 2001, at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

The public has helped the family deal with their loss, said Michael Lamana, Scott’s father.

“The support here has been unbelievable. There are people from all over the country. Without prayers and support, we wouldn’t have ever made it,” he said.

“Scotty was mischievous and hard-headed, but a good kid.”

Scott Lamana became interested in the military partly because of his grandfather, Sam Michelli, who served in the Navy in World War II.

“Scotty and I were real close,” Michelli said.

Scott Lamana took part in a military program at Catholic High, then joined the
ROTC at LSU.

“He just really loved the Navy,” his father said.

Lamana’s schoolmates and friends said the memorial service helped them grapple with the death.

“It’s still hard to believe,” said Peter Fourrier, who attended St. Aloysius and Catholic High with Lamana.

Navy Lieutenant Jimmy Screen said Lamana’s death really hit home.

Screen, who attended Catholic High with Lamana, once worked at the Pentagon. He attended Lamana’s funeral in Washington.

“The funeral was extremely painful,” he said.

He said the memorial service helped.

“I’m glad this is happening tonight for the locals because it gives closure, and especially for the families,” Screen said. “He was just a fun-loving guy, like his dad. He was always doing practical jokes. He had an easygoing spirit everyone is attracted to.”

One of Lamana’s teachers at St. Aloysius said she remembers his sense of humor and book smarts. But Sister Rosary Arocena said she is most proud of his decisions about what to do with his life.

“I see him as a hero who gave his life for our country, and I really admire him.”she said.

“He could have been something else, and he chose to serve his country.”

LAMANA, MICHAEL ”SCOTT” LT. USN (Age 31)

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, LT. MICHAEL SCOTT LAMANA, of Alexandria, VA. Husband of Lorna D. Lamana; son of Michael and Wanda Lamana of Baton Rouge, LA; brother of Danielle Lamana of Richmond, VA, and Andrea Chatelain of Baton Rouge, LA and grandson of Sam D. Michelli, Baton Rouge, LA died as a result of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Scott was born in Baton Rouge and was a 1988 graduate of Catholic High School. He graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science.

NOTE: Lieutenant Lamana was laid to rest in Section 64 of Arlington National Cemetery, in the shadows of the Pentagon.

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