Wagner High School honors namesake in 9/11 memorial ceremony

SAN ANTONIO – Students and faculty from Wagner High School paid tribute Monday to their namesake during a 9/11 memorial ceremony.

They gathered for a special wreath-laying ceremony at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery to honor Lt. Col. Karen Wagner, who was killed in the Pentagon attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Wagner, a 1979 graduate of Judson High School, was deputy chief of staff for personnel in the Office of the Army Surgeon General.

A ceremony to honor Wagner is held annually.

"It's just a way to continually remind our students of the sacrifices that she made -- not only for our country -- but to honor her memory as a former member of Converse-Judson ISD," Wagner High School principal Mary Duhart-Toppen said.

The grave site ceremony also included remembrances of Wagner's contributions as a student and soldier.