Fallen Nomads not forgotten at 18th Khobar Towers memorial ceremony

  • Published
  • By Chrissy Cuttita
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Overcast skies moved a solemn crowd indoors where the only water falling was the tears of Nomad family and friends who remembered what happened 18 years ago.

Airmen, Marines, Sailors, special guests and family members gathered to remember 19 warriors and 12 33rd Fighter Wing Nomads on the anniversary of the Khobar Towers bombing June 25.

"It still matters to us," said Navy Capt. Paul Haas, 33rd FW vice commander. "I often see momentos displayed at the Nomad memorial. Items in our headquarters case from an anniversary service say we've helped a collected body in their first step of healing by paying tribute to the 12 Airmen who are gone."

A terrorist attack at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, June 25, 1996, resulted in 400 casualties among civilian and military personnel. Members of the 33rd FW's enlisted force were caught in harm's way that day.

One of them made it out of there alive and told his story.

"I never imagined after living that nightmare I'd smile again," said guest speaker Tech. Sgt. Jerry Sasser who was a young enlisted maintainer assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron on that tragic day. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be in a combat zone."

Desert Shield and Desert Storm ended by the time Sasser enlisted.

He said the bombing happened during their last days in the dorms and their priority was packing up to return to the United States. One phone call home changed his life.
Instead of playing cards and relaxing with friends, two of whom were among the 12 fallen, Sasser took the advice of a friend to call his mother and check up on his truck.

Lines were long at the telephones in common areas but there was one he knew would be free in a fourth floor broom closet of Khobar Towers.

"If he didn't use the phone, he wouldn't be here today," said Jennifer Sasser, his wife. "It just takes one act of God to change everything."

After he heard a bomb go off while he was in the closet that day, Sasser explained he was left without positive thoughts for years until he was able to reflect on what happened. Immediately after, he ran through hallways to save the lives of others and heard who didn't make it, Sasser left active duty service for a few years.

"Our Nomads have ceased their wandering," Sasser remembered hearing at the end of recovering efforts. That phrase is etched on the memorial wall at the 33rd Fighter Wing and attributed to former President William J. Clinton who repeated those words.

"Let us now praise theses quiet American heroes, who gave their lives in service to America. May they rest in peace and may their names live on forever," said former President Clinton, days after the attack. "Our Nomads have ceased their wandering. They have come home."

A different memorial led Sasser's resiliency. When he saw a 33rd FW F-15 Eagle on a stand in the City of Debary Memorial Park, Fla., honoring fallen Khobar comrade Airman 1st Class Brian McVeigh, he said he flame ignited in him not to let the enemy take hold of him.

"You have to find whatever drives you in life and embrace it, regardless of the pain," said Sasser. "Today is not about me, but about the men whose names are engraved on granite outside."

The guest speaker specifically pointed out young Airmen in the crowd, some of whom read a name of the fallen in the ceremony, could have been born the year tragedy struck on his deployment. They can now be put in the same role he was at the same age.

"Heroes were made in minutes," said Sasser about the response of other Khobar Tower residents who carried wounded out of their dorms. "Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice are our heroes."

After the speech was over, the crowd observed a moment of silence, heard the names of the fallen and listened to a base honor guard member playing Taps.

"It's very important to do these types of things to honor the fallen and make sure we remember to let families know their sacrifices were important," said Jamie Gossett, family member of a Nomad who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The 12 Nomads were members of the 58th Fighter Squadron, 60th Fighter Squadron, 33d Logistics Group, 33d Maintenance Squadron and 33d Operations Support Squadron. They represented a cross-section of the wing as crew chiefs, expeditors, weapons loaders, mechanics, production superintendents, program managers, and technicians. The unit was deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch when a truck bomb exploded near the dormitory housing 33rd FW members. The memorial here honoring the Nomads' memory was dedicated a year after the tragedy.

The Nomads who gave their lives June 25, 1996:
Tech. Sgt Daniel Cafourek
Sgt. Millard Dee Campbell
Senior Airman Earl Cartrette, Jr.
Tech. Sgt. Patrick Fennig
Master Sgt. Kendall Kitson, Jr.
Airman 1st Class Brent Marthaler
Airman 1st Class Brian McVeigh
Airman 1st Class Peter Morgera
Tech. Sgt. Thanh Gus Nguyen
Airman 1st Class Joseph Rimkus
Senior Airman Jeremy Taylor
Airman 1st Class Justin Woody