As our nation responds to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, members of our community in the Armed Forces are ready to fight terrorism.

The Record Pilot heard about Guido Penafiel from his best friend, (they actually call themselves brothers), Andre Devone, at the recent Glen Cove High School homecoming game. Andre spotted this reporter in the bleachers and in the ensuing conversation we learned that Guido and Andre are both in the US Navy. Andre is in the Honor Guard participating in funerals at Arlington National Cemetery---including the funerals of those lost in the attack on the Pentagon. Guido is aboard a ship carrying Tomahawk missiles. The two young men have been together since kindergarten. In their high school years, they were members of the high school's football team. Guido and Andre were two of the "Fab Five" on the 1998 Big Red football team that brought home a county championship-the first after 50 years.

Andre had hoped to see Guido during his recent leave at the homecoming football game. That didn't happen because Guido's ship was already in the Persian Gulf.

After graduating from Glen Cove High School and going to college for a year, Guido Penafiel joined the US Navy. He is now aboard the USS Leyte Gulf, a guided missile carrier in the battle group Theodore Roosevelt currently patrolling the waters of the Persian Gulf. The ship is a crucial part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to his mom, Laurie, the USS Leyte Gulf shipped out from Norfolk, Virginia on Sept. 20, just over a week after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While there has been sporadic and screened communication between Guido and his family via e-mail, last Monday, Mrs. Penafiel received a long-awaited phone call from her son. In response to her "Where are you?," Guido told his mom he was in the Persian Gulf. Mrs. Penafiel said her son is in good spirits however she is very much concerned for his and his shipmates' safety. She asks that anyone wanting to contact Guido do so by e-mail. "His e-mail address is penafieg@leytegulf.navy.mil. I know he would like to hear from his Glen Cove friends and neighbors. Just remember that it may take a while for him to respond and that all communication is screened for security reasons," said Mrs. Penafiel.

Andre feels confident that his buddy will be fine and in Glen Cove soon. "He just might be safer in the Persian Gulf than we are right here considering what's going on," said Andre. Meanwhile, Old Glory is flying high and proud at the Penafiel home, brightly lit under an evening sky.