Clifton Woman Remembers Fallen Husband Killed in 9/11 Attacks

Canfield Boone was not even supposed to be at work on September 11, 2001.

It was his day off, but he went into his work at the Pentagon to check on some paperwork. He was up for a promotion to Colonel.

“It was just by chance that he was there,” his wife, Linda Boone, of Clifton, said.

Linda Boone was teaching her second grade class at Virginia Run Elementary School when a fellow teacher notified her about a plane striking the Pentagon.

“I came home and watched it on TV,” Boone said. “All of the phone lines were down. As the day wore on, I didn’t hear from him and got scared. My middle son spent all night calling hospitals.”

Military officials told Linda Boone that her husband was declared missing two days later.

“It wasn’t too long after that when they told me his body had been found,” Linda Boone said. “It all felt surreal.”

Ten years after the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon where 184 people were killed, Boone still wears her husband’s wedding ring around her neck.

“I never forget him,” Boone said. “The anniversary is really a day for everyone else to remember because I remember every day.”

How They Met

Canfield Boone would meet his wife, Linda, in their senior year at Butler University in Indiana. It was practically love at first sight.

“Our first date was in November and we were engaged by that May,” Linda Boone recalls.  “We hadn’t been dating that long, but we just knew.”

Linda Boone said she was attracted to her future husband’s wit.

“He was the funniest person I’d ever met,” Boone said. She recalls one road trip they went on where they got terribly lost looking for Branson, Missouri. As he drove around, he quipped: “I’m not sure where Branson is, but we’ve got it surrounded.”

Family Life

Her husband went active duty in the National Guard in 1991. They had three sons, Chris, Andy, and Jason. His first assignment was in Illinois, but the family was not happy with the school system there, so the family stayed in Indianapolis.

“He would commute during the week to see them if they had a game,” Linda Boone said. “He was very devoted to them.”

Boone was in the service for 31 years in various positions in command and staff positions. While working at the Pentagon, he worked in the personnel office. 

By that time, the three boys were full grown. Chris was 23, Andy was 21, and their youngest, Jason, 18, had just been dropped off at college.

“I’m glad that they got to know him,” Linda Boone said.

She also sees shades of their father in her sons. One example, Canfield Boone never bought tickets or made reservations, and now neither to their sons.

“It would drive me nuts,” Linda Boone said. “He was just very easy going, which was a complement to me because I’m kind of high strung.”

“My boys are so funny. They never buy tickets,” Linda Boone said. “They find themselves quoting their dad a lot.”

Remembrance

Linda Boone remembers going back to work at Virginia Run Elementary November 2001.

“It was the best thing I ever did,” Linda Boone said. “When you are in front of a room full of second graders, they get you back to normal really fast.”

Linda Boone established a scholarship in her husband’s name at Butler University.

“It’s been very rewarding to meet and get to know the recipients,” Linda Boone said. “Also, he would have loved that Butler went on to make it to the NCAA tournament two years in a row.”

Boone retired from her job as a teacher last year to spend more time with her family. Her two oldest sons are now married and have children of their own. Her youngest son, Jason, is temporarily living with her while he saves up to buy a home. Linda Boone attends a monthly support group for others who lost loved ones in the attacks.

On September 11, Boone will attend a ceremony either at the Pentagon or at Arlington Ceremony, as she does every year. Canfield Boone was posthumously awarded the rank of Colonel, along with the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart.

“You go on with your life, but you never forget him,” Linda Boone said. “I miss him.”   

CORRECTION A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the month that Linda Boone went back to work. It was November 2001.