The family of Brian Moss, a Sperry native killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, is marking 25 years without him on Sept. 11.

Moss, a U.S. Navy electronics technician and Cherokee Nation citizen, was 34 when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building. His widow, Mary Lou Moss, shared her story with Gaylord News in a report published Sept. 9.

"When my kids graduated college, my son got married. Just those mile markers are the worst," she said. "And I don't think that'll ever change."

Brian Moss grew up in Sperry, a town of about 1,000 residents 15 miles north of Tulsa. He enlisted in the Navy in March 1990 and was stationed in Adak, Alaska, where he met Mary Lou. They had two children, Ashten and Connor.

Before his Pentagon assignment, Moss spent three years with the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, training young sailors and performing in ceremonies including the 54th Presidential Inauguration. He helped lay fellow sailors from the U.S.S. Cole to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, according to his Pentagon Memorial biography.

In January 2001, Moss was selected as Naval District Washington's Sailor of the Year for 2000. The Pentagon Memorial biography describes the honor as almost unheard of for a 2nd Class Petty Officer.

He had worked at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for about a month when the attacks came. The night before, he called his mother in Sperry to tell her about his new job.

Mary Lou Moss was driving to her own job at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency that morning when she heard on the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. By about 7 p.m., Brian's commanding officer and a chaplain arrived at her home. Brian was among the missing. Two days later, she learned he had been identified.

She sent her children back to school the next day and returned to work herself. She told Gaylord News the family needed to keep moving forward, saying the days still went on and that staying home would not help her or her kids.

Since 2004, Mary Lou and her children have lived in Texas, closer to Brian's family in Oklahoma. She adopted and raised Brian's sister's daughter, who later enlisted in the Navy. Mary Lou told Gaylord News it felt like the young woman was walking in Brian's footsteps.

When Connor Moss married in Jamaica, the family set up a chair for Brian. Connor wore his father's Purple Heart.

Brian Moss was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery by members of the Ceremonial Guard, many of whom were his personal friends. A bench at the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial bears his name.

His family established the Brian Anthony Moss Patriotic Scholarship in 2002. The fund has supported students at Sperry High School and Skiatook High School who demonstrate service and community involvement.

Upcoming: The family's annual Brian Moss Memorial Golf Tournament is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Page Belcher Golf Course in Tulsa's Mohawk Park. Details are available at brianamoss.com.