Las Vegas teacher who died saluted
As the sun rose Friday over the Las Vegas Valley, students and members of Palo Verde High School's Air Force Jr. ROTC paid tribute to foreign language teacher Barbara Edwards, who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 when it slammed into the Pentagon eight years ago.
At her "We Will Never Forget" memorial at the southeast corner of the school's soccer field, a choir sang "America the Beautiful," followed by a trumpeter who played taps in front of the flag pole while a U.S. flag was lowered and replaced with a new one.
After a moment of silence, the choir sang the national anthem and the old flag was presented to Edwards' colleague, math teacher Kevin Hagood.
Standing by and wearing a button with an image of Edward's smiling face was her best friend, Gail Fahy, head of the school's Foreign Language Department.
Fahy's thoughts were "the same as usual. I miss her as much as ever," she said.
"There are celebrations all over the country, and I'm happy they're celebrating the day and the heroes," Fahy said.
As the attacks fade deeper in time, Fahy said she's afraid "people don't put that up front as a priority. It's not as vivid a memory as it should be."
Nevertheless, she said she's "really impressed with our young people" who volunteer for the armed forces.
"It's wonderful to see that they're willing to risk their lives and keep our country free," Fahy said.
Edwards, a 58-year-old mother of three, with an arm in a cast, was on medical leave from the first weeks of school in September 2001.
She had been in a vehicle accident in June 2001 with Fahy and was visiting family friends back East while recovering from her injuries.
She had boarded Flight 77 to return to the West Coast. Edwards was one of the people who died when the hijacked jetliner crashed into the Pentagon.
Also killed inside the Pentagon was Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner, a 1984 graduate of the ROTC program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
