Community Corner

Locals Recalled in Wake of Bin Laden's Death

People from west metro died in terror attacks and subsequent wars.

Osama bin Laden's death closes a chapter of sadness and grief that touched several local families.

Among those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, was Gordon "Gordy" McCannel Aamoth Jr., a Wayzata native and 1988 graduate of The Blake School. On 9/11, Aamoth, an investment banker, was working on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. Aamoth was 32-years-old when he died in the terrorist attacks. The Blake School's football field has been named the Gordy Aamoth Memorial Stadium in his honor. 

Bloomington native, Tom Burnett, Jr. also died on Sept. 11, 2011.  He was a passenger on hijacked United Flight 93, the plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania field on 9/11. Burnett lived with his wife and three daughters in California, where he worked for a medical research and development company. Burnett graduated from Bloomington's Ridgeview Elementary School, Olson Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School. He was 38. 

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Thousands of American soldiers have also died in the subsequent warfare that has stemmed from those 9/11 attacks, including Chief Warrant Officer Jonah McClellan and Staff Sergeant David Day. Both men were from St. Louis Park. McClellan was killed in Zabul province, Afghanistan, on Sept. 21, 2010. Day lost his life in Baghdad on Feb. 21, 2005.

Hopkins Patch will continue to update this article as more details become available.  

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