Shirley and Robert Hemenway of rural Shawnee fought a losing battle with tears Tuesday during a ceremony at South Junior High School.

Holding hands in South’s gymnasium, the couple shed tears of sorrow during an all-school assembly honoring their son, Ronald Hemenway, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.

On behalf of their son’s wife and children, the Hemenways accepted $2,489 that South students, staff and faculty raised during the past six months.

“I’m very humbled by your presence here,” Robert Hemenway told them. “Thank you very much. You’ve been a real light to us.”

Donald Hemenway, 37, was a U.S. Navy electronics technician First Class Petty Officer assigned to the chief of naval operations when an airliner plowed into the Pentagon.

He left behind a wife, Marinella, and two children, Stefan, 3, and Desiree, 1, all of Virginia.

Mr. and Mrs. Hemenway also were presented three journals  one from each junior high class  capturing the thoughts of seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders after the Sept. 11 airliner assaults.

Other students wrote personal letters to the Hemenways, which also were presented.

“Those letters are going to mean so much to me,” Mrs. Hemenway said. “It’s going to make me cry to read them.”

Her son had been a horse breeder until enlisting in the Navy in 1994. At 30, he was starting a military career later than most. But he finished first in his class at electronics school and was given his choice of assignments. He selected the USS LaSalle stationed in Gaeta, Italy. That’s where he met Marinella.

To spend more time with his family, he transferred to the Pentagon in 2000. He worked there nearly 18 months.

The Hemenways recently attended a memorial service for their son at Arlington National Cemetery. Ronald’s body has not been recovered, but there is a white marker in that hallowed cemetery with his name on it.

“It overlooks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” Robert Hemenway said.

Adding a dose of patriotism to the program at South, veterans in Lawrence’s Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 of the American Legion replaced the flag used at South. The retired flag was presented to Russell Blackbird, South’s principal, and the American Legion members donated a new flag to the school.

Robert Hemenway said the nation was shaken by the terrorist attacks but had responded properly with military force. The patriotism of average citizens is refreshing, he said.

“I think the whole attitude in this country is changing,” he said. “I wholeheartedly support our president.”