WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A former commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard -- who ordered jets over the Capitol amid the September 11 , 2001 , terror attacks -- was among those killed in a transit train crash in Washington this week , authorities said Tuesday . The crash killed retired Maj. Gen. David Wherley Jr. , ex-leader of the D.C. National Guard , and his wife , Ann . Retired Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife , Ann , both 62 , were killed along with seven others Monday in the most deadly train crash in the history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . `` He was as fine a public servant , as dedicated to the United States of America ... as anyone I have ever met , '' Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty told reporters Tuesday . On the morning of the September 11 attacks , Wherley , commander of the 113th Fighter Wing at Andrews Air Force Base , deployed pilots with orders from then-Vice President Dick Cheney to protect the White House and take out any aircraft that threatened the Capitol , according to the 9/11 Commission Report . `` They said challenge them , try to turn them away ; if they do n't turn away , use whatever force is necessary to keep them from hitting buildings downtown , '' Wherley told the Washington Post in a 2002 interview . 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 , '' said Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz who succeeded Wherley when he retired . See pictures of crash site » . The Wherleys are survived by a son , David , a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army Golden Knights ; a daughter , Betsy ; and one grandchild , according to the National Guard . The seven others killed in the collision were : train operator Jeanice McMillan , 42 , of Springfield , Virginia ; Mary Doolittle , 59 ; Lavanda King , 23 ; Veronica Dubose , 26 ; Cameron Williams , 36 ; and Dennis Hawkins , 64 , all of Washington ; and Ana Fernandez , 40 , of Hyattsville , Maryland .
Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. deployed pilots on September 11 , 2001 . Wherley , wife , seven others killed in Monday 's crash of two D.C. Metro trains . Wherley was commanding general of D.C. National Guard from 2003 to 2008 . `` He was as fine a public servant ... as anyone '' I 've met , Washington mayor says .