United States of America
Wilson F. Flagg
Rear Admiral Rear Admiral Upper Half
1938 – 2001

Vietnam Wall · Panel 70W
Rear Admiral Upper Half Wilson F. Flagg served the Naval Air Reserve - and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for 40 years. Wilson was married to Darlene E. Flagg. Wilson was 62 years old.
How They Died
Manner
Homicide
Cause
Multiple traumatic injuries
Place
Virginia
What Happened
Killed at the Pentagon on the morning of 11 September 2001, when American Airlines flight 77 struck the western face of the building at 9:37. A hundred and twenty-five people inside and fifty-nine aboard the aircraft were killed.
Biography
Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve, retired. He was aboard American Airlines flight 77 with his wife of more than forty years.
He finished at Corona High School in 1956 and the Naval Academy in 1961, and married his high school sweetheart immediately after graduation. He was designated a naval aviator in 1962 and qualified in the F-8 Crusader, and made three deployments aboard the Oriskany, two of them combat cruises.
He left active duty in 1967 and joined both American Airlines and the Naval Reserve, and made a career of each. In the reserve he commanded two air reserve F-8 squadrons and two force augment units, served at the Pentagon as special assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs and as assistant chief of naval operations for air warfare, and was deputy for reserve affairs to the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. He was selected for rear admiral in 1986 and retired in 1995 with two stars. He retired from American Airlines as a captain in 1998.
He and his wife kept Daybreak Farm at Millwood in Virginia, and the neighbours watched the fields and fences and barns grow more beautiful under their care. Their grandchildren spent summers there.
He finished at Corona High School in 1956 and the Naval Academy in 1961, and married his high school sweetheart immediately after graduation. He was designated a naval aviator in 1962 and qualified in the F-8 Crusader, and made three deployments aboard the Oriskany, two of them combat cruises.
He left active duty in 1967 and joined both American Airlines and the Naval Reserve, and made a career of each. In the reserve he commanded two air reserve F-8 squadrons and two force augment units, served at the Pentagon as special assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs and as assistant chief of naval operations for air warfare, and was deputy for reserve affairs to the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. He was selected for rear admiral in 1986 and retired in 1995 with two stars. He retired from American Airlines as a captain in 1998.
He and his wife kept Daybreak Farm at Millwood in Virginia, and the neighbours watched the fields and fences and barns grow more beautiful under their care. Their grandchildren spent summers there.
Survivors
His sons Marc and Michael, his sister Patricia, and four grandchildren.
Service Record
U.S. Navy
Naval Air Reserve - and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
1961 – 2001
Memorials
National September 11 Memorial
Panel 70W · Line 1
cut as Wilson F. Flagg
Also Remembered
September 11, 2001 — The Pentagon
Family
Darlene E. Flagg
In Our Keeping
Permanent identifier
neuraspine_01m2f2chwf6re9m0twnn63k47d
Record added
September 14, 2026
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Last updated
September 21, 2026
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