As Allen Boyle was growing up in Wappinger's Falls, N.Y., not far from Poughkeepsie, he repeatedly made a vow to his friends. His mother had died when he was 11, his dad when he was 14. "I'm going to be there for my children," said the shy, passive young man to his friends. That he, a father of two young children with a third on the way, died in the Pentagon crash was the cruelest of ironies.Especially given how far he'd come. "He was very quiet but always smiling. He had absolutely no enemies," said his cousin, Ruth Pfeiffer, who was close to Boyle and very fond of him. The sister-in-law who raised Boyle, Helene Hohn, says Allen "never stressed. He didn't have a temper. I never even heard him swear."

Hohn worried about the grief he must have been feeling, but she saw that Allen found solace and self-expression in his beloved electric guitar, which he "played constantly," says Pfeiffer. The KISS fan played with his band in the family basement and literally slept with his guitar in his arms. "He held on tight," said Hohn. "It was his security."As far as career went, Allen wanted to be either an electrician, (his father's trade) or a pilot. For a while he was an airplane mechanic, and for a time pumped gas at Circle K. But when he traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to visit his brother, he discovered ITT, the technical school, and decided to enroll. He'd follow in his dad's footsteps.

Eventually he found work at the Pentagon, where he was working as a subcontractor for the Radian Co., maintaining and improving the building's security system. "He was so proud to be working at the Pentagon," said Hohn through tears. "His whole family was very patriotic. We even decorated his truck red, white and blue for his wedding."

Still, Allen and his wife Rhonda, a grade-school teacher, were having trouble making ends meet. He worked 70 hours a week, including nighttime pizza delivery at night, to support his family. "He was an excellent father," said Pfeiffer. "He really took care of the kids all the time." He, Rhonda and their two young children were living in a motel in Fredericksburg, Va., at the time of his death at age 30.

Rhonda Boyle is expecting another child in early December.

I will always remember Al. We all grew up together in Wappingers Falls, NY. Al and my brother Chris were best friends. They played guitar together all the time, etc. Al spent a lot of time at our house when we were kids. Our whole family loved him, especially Chris. I pray for all that he left behind, especially his own children. May God keep and protect you. Lisa La Falce

I used to be the teacher to his children in the daycare and i couldn't know a man who loved his kids more. I pray for you everyday and i hope the kids are doing fine. I miss them so much. Always thinking of them~ Ms. Claire from Learn N' Play Daycare. Claire Eades (Fredericksburg, VA)