Thursday’s memorial service for Hempfield’s 14th Quartermaster Detachment was both somber and joyful, a time for mourning those lost while catching up with old friends.
“It’s nice to see everyone,” said Sgt. Mary Rhoads of California, Pa. “We made a promise that we would never forget them.”
The ceremony at the Greensburg Army Reserve Center in Hempfield was in memory of the 13 members of the detachment who were killed 30 years ago when an Iraqi missile struck their barracks in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.
Rhoads was leaving the compound when the missile hit.
“It was chaos,” she said. “Everyone was trying to rescue everybody.”
She has attended the annual memorial service nearly every year since. It’s an opportunity to see other members of the detachment and their families, many of whom she doesn’t see all year.
“It’s nice to have someone who understands what you’re going through,” she said.
Because of covid-19, attendance at Thursday’s ceremony was limited to members of the detachment and their families.
After prayers, remarks from military leaders and the singing of the national anthem, attendees lined up to place white roses on a monument to the fallen soldiers. The crowd then prayed in silence as taps was played.
“Many years have passed since the moment the nation learned of your loss, but for many of you, the memories and emotions are still very fresh,” Brig. Gen. Laurence S. Linton told the crowd. “This memorial is a time we are forced to fight through the pain of our loss, to brave the cold, and to continue to perform our sacred duty to honor their sacrifice.”
Linton is the commanding general of the 316th Sustainment Command, based in Coraopolis.
Stacey Dawson was a soldier in the detachment, and was at the barracks when the missile hit. She traveled from Florida to attend Thursday’s ceremony.
“I came today because I made a vow that I would never forget those who lost their lives,” she said. “I kept my vow.”
