50 join Hempfield ceremony for reservists killed in Saudi Arabia attack

It was something Mike Nolen just had to do.

On Tuesday, the 67-year-old North Huntingdon man slipped on the jacket that proclaims he's an “Iraqi Scud Survivor” and visited a Hempfield memorial honoring those who weren't as lucky.

“I just felt like I should come up here today for some reason,” Nolen said. “I think the older I get, it bothers me more.”

Just before noon, Nolen walked around the monument alone, reading the names of the 13 members of the Army Reserve's 14th Quartermaster Detachment killed Feb. 25, 1991, when an Iraqi Scud missile decimated their barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Storm.

In addition to those killed in Nolen's water purification unit, 45 were wounded, making it the greatest number of casualties suffered by any single unit during the offensive.

Standing at the monument just outside the unit's armory in Carbon, Nolen was unaware that a memorial service honoring the dead was about to get under way.

The brief ceremony was attended by about 50 people who laid red, white and blue carnations at the memorial.

Nolen, who was on guard duty at the time of the attack and was not injured, stood toward the back of the crowd while the soldiers' family members cried, hugged and thanked military personnel at the armory for remembering the anniversary each year.

“To some, it may seem like so very long ago. However, to us, it seems like just yesterday we were holding our loved ones in our arms,” said Connie Clark, whose daughter, Beverly S. Clark, 23, of Armagh perished in the attack.

“There have been many battles since that day ... but let us never forget the sacrifice they made for all of us,” Clark said.

Sally Minich of Hawthorn in Clarion County, spoke briefly and posed for a somber picture afterward. Her son, Sgt. Frank J. Walls, 20, was killed in the attack.

“It brings back a lot of memories that I wish I didn't have to remember,” she said. “This means so, so much to me.”

Denise Samuels of Cranberry read a poem in remembrance of her brother, Spc. Frank S. Keough, 22, of North Huntingdon, who died in the missile blast.

Darla Madison of Monessen offered a prayer to conclude the brief ceremony. Her son, Spc. Anthony E. Madison, 27, was killed in the attack.

“We thank you for their service,” Madison said in the prayer. “We thank you for those who are serving now.”

Nolen, recalling the impact of the direct hit by the Scud, remembered finding shrapnel embedded in his belongings later recovered from the barracks.

His wife had the “survivor” jacket, complete with an Army patch, made after his return, he said.

“I knew them all that got killed, I knew everybody,” he said. “I was just lucky I was on guard duty.”

Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.