Karen Wagner

Fallen Hero’s Hometown and State: San Antonio, TX

Branch of Service: U.S. Army

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

Lt. Colonel Wagner was assigned to the Pentagon as the medical personnel officer in the Office of the Army Surgeon General and Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel on 9/11. She had just returned to her desk after watching the second plane hit the World Trade Center on TV when flight 77 hit the Pentagon.

A natural athlete, Wagner played basketball and ran track in high school, but was known for her great sense of humor. That sense of humor continued throughout her time in the U.S. Army, even after facing adversity in the death of an infant daughter and a divorce. Wagner was known to still sing “Hey Baby, Que Paso” walking down the hall and she reMEd close to her U.S. Army family.

Wagner, nicknamed “Peanut,” grew up in the Army. She followed in her father, Bill Wagner’s footsteps, who served in the Army as a medic. The annual Army human resource officer leadership award is named in her honor. She is interred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Age: 40

Date of Death: September 11, 2001