David and Ann Wherley were high school sweethearts who were king and queen of their high school prom in York, Pennsylvania. They were preparing to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next month, but their lives were tragically cut short last week in the Metro train crash in Washington.
Retired Maj. Gen. David Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, were killed in last week's Metro crash.
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A former commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, David Wherley was also the military man who, on September 11, 2001, deployed planes over Washington to protect the White House and take out any aircraft that threatened the Capitol.
"They said, 'Challenge them, try to turn them away; if they don't turn away, use whatever force is necessary to keep them from hitting buildings downtown,' " Wherley told the Washington Post in 2002.
Wherley, a 40-year military veteran, served as the commanding general of the D.C. Guard from 2003 to 2008.
"I am personally grieved by this unbelievable tragedy. David and Ann were two of the best people you could ever want to know. This community will grieve, as will many throughout the country who knew and loved them both," said Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, who succeeded Wherley when he retired.
The two were among the nine killed June 22 when two trains crashed on the Red Line of Washington's Metro commuter rail. It was the deadliest train crash in the history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The Wherleys, both 62, were interred during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.
At one point, fighter jets flew over the cemetery in missing man formation, followed by a traditional three-shot volley, a bugler playing taps and the folding of the American flag, as is tradition, 12 times.
The Wherleys' grown children were presented a flag, as was an elderly couple sitting with them. About 200 people attended the service, including Army Secretary Peter Geren.
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