Palo Verde remembers Sept. 11

Today's high school students were in kindergarten through the third grade when terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

Memorials to local victims like Barbara Edwards, a Palo Verde High School teacher who died in the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon, have become more significant for their educational value nine years after the tragedy.

Cameron Burns, 17, recalled that he was very "young and understood very little" despite the stress the disaster put on his family.

Because all airplanes were grounded to prevent further hijackings, Cameron's father, Mick Burns, a customer service agent for Alaskan Airlines, was given the onerous tasks of redirecting stranded passengers and of teaching other employees about baggage inspections at McCarran International Airport.

On Friday, Mick Burns, dressed up in a gray suit, held up a video camera to record his son marching in the color guard for an annual Sept. 11, 2001 observance at the soccer field of Palo Verde High School, 333 Pavilion Center Drive, near Alta Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway.

"I don't think enough time has passed at all" since 2001, said Mick Burns. "It's always on the back on your mind. But days like today make you wonder about all those who perished."

Edwards' love for language is remembered by an inscription of "We will never forget" carved three times in English, French and German in the school's stone memorial to her and all other 9/11 victims.

The school library also displays a tribute to Edwards.

"We do our very best to make sure all kids at Palo Verde High School know the legacy of Barbara Edwards and know the sacrifice of 9/11," Principal Dan Phillips said.

Cameron Burns, a cadet second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, said Sept. 11 has "sparked" his interest in the military. He anticipates joining either the Air Force or Army upon graduation.

Andi Huff, 17, the cadet wing commander for the Palo Verde's Air Force ROTC, said one of the reasons she wants to go to culinary school in New York City after graduation is to see the ground zero site.

"I didn't fully understand what was going on at the time," said Huff, who was 8 years old in 2001. "I knew everybody was really scared and just glued to the TV. All I kept asking was, 'What's going on?' "

Because she has participated in the Palo Verde's Sept. 11 ceremony for four years, Huff said, "I've grown to understand what happened that day and everything that is involved with that day."

Fewer than half of the current Palo Verde staff worked with Edwards, who was 58 years old when she died in the terrorist hijacking. Edwards had gone to the East Coast for a wedding and to visit family in the Washington, D.C., area.

Kevin Hagood, a calculus teacher, taught three classroom doors downs from Edwards' German classroom.

He learned of Edwards' death from a colleague at 2 a.m. the following day.

Students loved her, he said.

"She was happy. She was boisterous. The kids learned a ton from her."

As friends of Edwards, Hagood and Gail Fahy, the chairman of the foreign language department at Palo Verde, both received flags that were previously flown at the flagpole of the 9/11 memorial.

Fahy was grateful for the passage of time.

"I can laugh about things and remember the good times now," Fahy said.

"We did all kinds of crazy things together. She was so much fun. She was my buddy."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@review journal.com or 702-374-7917.