Karen Wagner High School: Thunderbirds Pay Tribute to Lt. Col. Karen Wagner

Army JROTC Cadets honor Lt. Col. Karen Wagner at their annual Sept. 11, memorial. (Photo by Judson Independent School District)

Written by Cadet Tanya Williams

On Sept. 11, Wagner High School, San Antonio, Texas, the Thunderbird Battalion JROTC held their annual ceremony paying tribute to Lt. Col. Karen Wagner, who lost her life at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks. Wagner graduated from Judson High School in 1979. She went to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and became a distinguished military graduate, later earning her Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration from Webster University. She was commissioned in 1984 as a Medical Service Corps Officer.

Her assignments included duties as Adjutant for the 85th Medical Evacuation Hospital at Fort Lee, VA; Executive Officer and Company Commander of Delta Company, 187th Medical Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, TX; Chief, Personnel for the 57th Evacuation Hospital at Wurzburg, Germany; Chief, Personnel Services Branch at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Personnel Officer assigned to Office of the Army Surgeon General; Staff Officer with Inspector General Office, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, TX and Executive Officer and Secretary General Staff, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

In the summer of 2001, shortly after Wagner had been promoted, the unthinkable happened. Wagner was in the Pentagon, working in her cubicle, when a hijacked plane crashed into the building. Without hesitation, Wagner stepped in to try and help save others.

Wagner died in the attack, but her legacy has lived on. In 2003, the Wagner Sports Center at Walter Reed was named in her honor, while the headquarters of the 32nd Medical Brigade at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is named Wagner Hall, and in 2004, the Judson Independent School District named its second high school in honor of  Wagner, a local hero. The Thunderbird Battalion continue to pay homage to her every year with a ceremony for the school and the San Antonio/Converse Texas community.