Norton Mourns Loss of Friend & Colleague Gen David Wherley & Others in Metro Collision (6/23/09)

Norton Mourns the Loss of Friend and Colleague Gen. David Wherley and Other D.C. and Regional Riders Lost or Injured in the Tragic Metro Collision

June 23, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has been notified that at least five of the nine known to have died in the Metro crash yesterday were D.C. residents, including a friend and constituent, Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., the recently retired commanding general, Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard and his wife, Ann. The Congresswoman confirmed Wherley's death in a conversation today with Major General Errol R. Schwartz, the current Commanding General. Norton came to know the two as a pair devoted to the Guard and to the District of Columbia when Schwartz was the Adjunct General of the District of Columbia National Guard and Commander of the District of Columbia Army National Guard and Wherley was Major General. Norton's statement follows:

"We express our profound sympathy to the families of the victims from the District of Columbia whose great losses have already been made known to us and to the families of others who died in the Metro tragedy as well as to the many who were injured. Along with others in our city and region, we are still reeling with the loss of our residents in the crash - Mary Doolittle of Northwest, Dennis Hawkins of Northwest, LaVonda King of Northeast, and Gen. David Wherley and his wife Ann. We are here for their families and stand ready to be of assistance.

"I worked closely with Gen. Wherley for many years and we developed a close working relationship during his tenure, especially during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which saw the conversion of the D.C. National Guard from weekend warriors to Army troops performing the duties of enlisted soldiers in the field of battle. General Wherley took his command in the District to heart, working for our city and with me on everything from deployment and returning ceremonies for our Guard troops to funding for tuition for Guard members and for kids in camps and after school activities conducted by the D.C. National Guard.

"During his long tenure here, Gen. Wherley became more than a general stationed to work in the District of Columbia. He moved here, bought a condominium here on Capitol Hill, and he and his wife involved themselves in the civic life of our community.

"The General was thin and fit, but I learned that he was recovering from heart surgery that occurred two weeks ago. He apparently was none the worse for the surgery because he and his wife had planned a trip to Europe in October.

"Gen. David Wherley was accustomed to risking his life for his country as commander of two flying squads, but found his rest yesterday in the hometown he grew to love and adopted as his own. We offer our condolences to his family, to the National Guard, and to the families of our own residents and others' who died in and were injured in the crash.