MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Family members of the fallen Airmen of the Khobar Towers attack gathered at The Maxwell-Gunter Annex, Alabama, at the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall.They were there to witness the unveiling of the newest exhibit honoring the nineteen Airman that perished during the attack, June 23, 2016.
On June 25, 1996, 19 Airmen, 17 of whom were enlisted, were killed when a bomb exploded near a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
In honor of 20th anniversary of this attack, the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall personnel hosted a wreath laying ceremony and presented their newest Khobar Towers display within the museum.
The original display from 1999 featured three manikins donning the uniforms of Airman 1st Class Justin Wood, Master Sgt. Michael Heiser and Staff Sgt. Kevin Johnson. The new display is now larger and in addition to the three manikins it also features a plaque with the names of the 19 Airmen who died that day, a memorial bench and an expansion of the artifact display.
The exhibit is also the first to have alternate flooring as part of the display, leading up to the display is a simulated road to signify the road that passed by the towers, which allowed the building to be accessible to the attack.
After the unveiling, Richard Wood, father of Airman 1st Class Justin Wood, peered through the glass case and admired at his son’s belongings, including his full service dress and a name tag.
“To be honest it’s a little hard not to keep a tear from rolling down my cheek, but it’s kind of a cool feeling,” Wood said.
He decided to attend the event for a couple reasons: not only to honor his son, but to hopefully meet survivors of the attack.
“Some of them have a real hard time talking to us, because they feel guilty they survived, but I wanted to meet a few of those guys and tell them that they are in our thoughts,” Wood said.
Chief Master Sgt. Emily Shade, Air Force Enlisted Research Institute and Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall director, had been through all the planning stages of the event, however, she did not realize the affect the ceremony would have over her.
“I was not at Khobar towers and I had not deployed at that point in my career, but I was an Airman first class when Khobar Towers happened and I remember the event,” she said. “I didn’t expect the dedication and ceremony to impact me emotionally, but I had a real moment of reflection this morning. Those Airmen were my peers when I was an Airman first class, and had they not been killed that day, they would be my Chief Master Sergeant peers right now, so it really touched my heart that they were me and I was them.”
Wood’s message to Airmen was for them to know that there are still people out there who respect what they do, that they are loved and to be safe.