Families grieve for victims of Saudi bombing
June 26, 1996
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT)(CNN) -- The family of Air Force Technical Sgt. Patrick Fennig thought they would welcome him back to Greendale, Wisconsin, this week. Instead, they are grieving his death at the hands of terrorists in Saudi Arabia.
"It hurts," said his brother Paul. "It's unfortunate that there are cowards out there that have to do stuff like this to affect people the way they do."
In tears, his mother, Cassie Fennig, said the family had been planning to gather for her and her husband's 50th wedding anniversary in July. "He was coming home. That's the last I heard," she said.
Like many of the military personnel who were hit in the attack, Fennig was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. His father said Patrick Fennig had wanted to be in the Air Force from the age of 5. "It was his life and he'd been stationed there before, so he was fully aware of the conditions over there," said Ted Fenning.
The Fennigs say the 34-year-old flight mechanic was not scared of serving in Saudi Arabia. This was his second tour of duty there.
Another airman was supposed to be on his way home Wednesday to Stratham, New Hampshire, to retire and return to private life and the volunteer fire department he loved. Airman First Class Peter Morgera was 24.
His mother, Diane, heard the news of the bombing Tuesday evening, but went to sleep convinced her son had left before the explosion.
"I asked, 'Is it possible you're wrong,' and they said they didn't think so," Diane Morgera said.
His friend, Stan Walker, said: "He'd be a great, reliable person to have right beside you, in front of you or behind you; you knew that he was going to follow you through and do the things that needed to be done."
In Modesto, California, the family and friends of Airman First Class Justin Wood thought he would be home in time to celebrate his 21st birthday in mid-July.
"The minute I heard the knock, I knew. I said, 'Well, it's about Justin,'" said his mother Kathy. His father, Richard, said the experience was just like scenes he had seen in the movies. "When I opened the door and I saw the three uniforms, I knew," he said.
Vigil by the radio
Other mothers, fathers, spouses and friends of U.S. personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia worried while they waited to hear the fate of their loved ones. Helen Giancarlo said she kept her bedside radio on all night Tuesday. "They kept adding more to the list of dead people, and I thought, 'They're not telling me the truth. He's probably worse than they say.'"
Her son, Master Sgt. William Sine, was among the hundreds of wounded. He is in King Fahd Hospital in Dhahran, recovering from cuts to his face and arms.
Airman James Armstrong is also recovering from minor cuts. His mother, Joan, said he has telephoned. "He said, 'Mom and Dad, don't worry about me. I've been cut real bad on the legs, I got stitches. They took care of me. I'm alright -- I'm shook up really bad.'"
His father, Robert, like many people, was astonished to learn the strength of the blast. His son's tower complex was a quarter-mile from the building that was destroyed, Robert Armstrong said, "but he said the blast was so terrifying and terrific that it blew out all the windows in all the complexes. He was in his room and his windows were blown out, and he was cut in the legs."
More than 300 members of the 33rd Fighter Wing and their support personnel were expected to return home Friday. The survivors will return to Eglin Air Force Base, where they will grieve with the families and friends of those who did not survive.
Richard Morgera said of his son Peter, "God closed one door in life for Peter, but he opened another door, and it's called heaven. And I know that he'll be up there with God."
A memorial service at Eglin is scheduled for Sunday.
Correspondents Al Hinman and Bonnie Anderson, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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