2996 Project: In Honor of Chin Sun Pak

Note: This post will remain at the top of this site through 9/11 and has been dated 9/11. Please scroll down over the weekend to view other posts as they are added later today and Sunday.

In honor of Chin Sun Pak as part of the 2996 Project


Army Specialist Chin Sun Pak was among those whose lives were taken on 9/11. “Pako” or “Sunny”, as she was often called because of her sunny disposition, had no premonition that she was to die that day, two days shy of her twenty-fifth birthday. Her finance, Christopher McFarland, had teased her that morning about having to go to work at the Pentagon while he himself had off that day. She had teased him right back, telling him to have dinner waiting for her when she returned home. She never did.

Sunny, a young woman from Lawton, Oklahoma, enlisted in the army on December 23, 1997. Her basic training and advanced individual training was received at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. From there, she served in Korea at the 8th Army headquarters. By 9/11 she was serving as a personnel specialist at the Pentagon at the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. Chin Sun Pak had also received the Joint Service Achievement Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

Chin Sun Pak, by all accounts, was a truly beautiful person with many hopes and dreams. She and McFarland had planned to marry in March of 2002. They dreamed of starting a family together. Sunny also had plans to study medicine after she left the service in February of 2002. Those dreams were nullified on September 11.

Many who loved and knew her have written their thoughts at legacy.com. Below are some of their words:

January 11, 2002

Sunny and I were engaged over the past 4 years and were to be married in March 2002. Never have I felt pain in my life like I have since September 11th. I lost my fiancee', my friend, and the love of my life. I love you Sunny.
Christopher McFarland (Woodbridge, VA)


March 11, 2002

I knew Sunny from Korea, she was a beautiful person inside and out. I will truly miss her and my heart goes out to her family, Christopher and friends. What took place on Sept. 11 has changed my life and made me aware of how you can know someone and lose them in an instance. I think about her everyday and I know she is looking down upon us from that house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens. I love and miss you Sunny.
Tyrone Bumpus (Miami, FL )


Sept 20, 2004

Sunny was a very close friend to me. Chris is my brother in law and we lived 1 mile from each other. We spent alot of time together playing games and talking. She was there at the hospital when I gave birth to my son A.J. She loved him and treated him like her own. She was a wonderful person and I will never forget her. I miss her so much. My prayers go out to all of her family and friends. I will always miss and love you Sunny.
Mary Mcfarland (Vienna, OH )


Jan 14, 2003
My heart goes out to Sunny's family. I was friend's with Sunny for the last two years of her life, we spent many days in the pentagon together. That dreadful day I was on the phone with her when the plane hit, my heart broke in many pieces when I knew she was gone. She was a great friend, just her smile brought a smile to my face. She was a true gift to anyones life and a best friend for life. I love and miss you terribly SUNNY, God Bless and hope to see you again some day...love, Keri
Keri Mcleod (Lakeridge, VA )


Dec 19, 2002
As I look back at the time when I was stationed in Korea with "2Pac", I think about how sweet of a person she was. It really was a sad day when I found out that she had passed away. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and to Chris. May God continue to strengthen you each and every day for I know she is in a place that is Truly Blessed and she is looking down on each and every one of us.God Bless,BJ...
Brune' Lovett (Valrico, FL )

Most of us did not have the honor of knowing Chin Sun Pak personally. No doubt we are the worse for it. A young woman who served her country well and who brought joy and sunshine into many lives, a woman committed to raising a family with a man she loved, a woman who wished to continue serving her fellow citizens by studying and practicing medicine surely would be worth knowing and is clearly worth honoring and remembering.

Sources:
Legacy.com
Baltimore Sun
Arlington National Cementary Website
Defend America

Be sure to check out the other tributes to the 9/11 victims and heros here.