Ceremony Held To Honor Hempfield Township's 14th Quartermaster Unit 30 Years After Gulf War Missile Attack
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A special remembrance ceremony was held to honor Hempfield Township's Army Reserve unit 30 years after a missile attack during the Gulf War.
Ninty-nine soldiers were wounded and 28 died, including the 13 from the 14th Quartermaster U.S. Army Reserves, in the attack three decades ago Thursday. One of the victims was Specialist Anthony Madison.
"He was the sweetest person you'd ever want to talk to," said Madison's mother, Darla.
Sgt. Robert Lessman's life also changed in a blinding flash and searing explosion.
"I was sitting, writing a letter when we got hit," he said.
Lessman is a survivor and one-time member of the 14th Quartermaster U.S. Army Reserves who was inside a massive warehouse that was hit by a missile in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The unit had only been in the country six days before the attack.
The unit was there to purify drinking water.
"You couldn't see and couldn't hear. I had a shrapnel wound to my left eye and both eardrums were perforated from the blast," said Lessman.
On Thursday, Lessman returned again to the 14th's home in Hempfield Township for a ceremony remembering those injured and killed. Those left behind placed single white roses on the memorial.
"Losing 13 members of our unit and the people that got injured, it's not always an easy thing to be thinking about," Lessman said.
Lessman, fellow survivors, Gold Star parents and dignitaries defied the pain and came together Thursday to comfort each other and thank those who survived.
"I want the world to remember the sacrifices made," Lessman said.
