Bagpipes at UNLV play tribute to terrorists’ victims

Jennifer Knight

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 9:22 a.m.

Edgar St. John heard the bagpipes as Canadian reinforcements arrived to bolster U.S. troops during the Korean War. He heard them again during a tour of duty in Vietnam. Today, he was to play the bagpipes during a ceremony to mourn the loss of thousands of Americans in terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C, Tuesday.

"When I hear the scurrile of the bagpipes, I feel we've got it made," St. John said. "You know that God's on your side."

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas was to host a prayer vigil at noon today during National Day of Remembrance. St. John was to play "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes, an instrument his father taught him to play.

Similar ceremonies will be held at churches and mosques throughout Las Vegas today.

The 72-year-old veteran of three wars served in War World II and aided with the D-Day operation while serving with the Marine Corps. He later transferred into the Army and was stationed in Korea. After that, he served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a military adviser.

After retiring, St. John was a passenger on a plane hijacked by a group of Middle Eastern extremists in Okinawa in 1974.

"We sat for 17 hours on the runway," he said. "Infants were crying and we didn't know what was going to happen."

The hijackers eventually released the women and children before being captured by police, he said.

With all he has seen, St. John was still horrified by Tuesday's events.

"War has changed," he said. "We used to fight honorary wars. I'm afraid we're going to have to lower our standards to the same level these people are on in order to retaliate."