Md. Family Lost in 9-11 Tragedy Remembered

On a bright September morning, the Falkenberg-Whittington family flew out of Reagan National Airport on American Airlines Flight 77. Leslie A. Whittington, 45, a professor at Georgetown University, was taking her family to Australia for a few months, where she would teach at the national university in Canberra. She and her family never arrived. Just moments after takeoff, their hijacked flight slammed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people--including Whittington, her husband, Charles, and their two small children, Zoe and Dana. More than seven years later, the University Park family is remembered and missed by those who knew them well.

	Barbara Duffy, a first-grade teacher at University Park Elementary School, taught Zoe Falkenberg and developed a close relationship with her family. She recounts the last time she saw Zoe, just days before she died at age 8. Slide Show: Teacher Remembers Family Lost In 9-11 Tragedy
	Carla Monardes, a kindergarten teacher at University United Methodist Church in College Park, remembers the Falkenberg-Whittington family and the last time she saw Leslie A. Whittington.

--Interviews and page by James K. Sanborn; published Dec. 12, 2008

Copyright © 2008 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism

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