'I was just spun around'
Hero describes desperate seconds before blast
June 28, 1996
Web posted at: 1:15 a.m. EDT (0515 GMT)DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- In the eyes of many U.S. officials, Sgt. Alfredo Guerrero is nothing short of a hero. Had it not been for his alertness, they say, many more would have died in Tuesday's bombing of the Khobar housing complex.
Guerrero was on the rooftop when he saw the tanker truck and a car pull in. He said he saw two people in the truck and one person in the car. They parked the truck just outside the fence, got into the waiting car and sped off.
Something about the truck "was not right," Guerrero said. His suspicions raised, he sounded the alarm and rushed down to urge residents to evacuate.
"We went suite by suite, room by room and tried to get everybody on the way down," he said.
The 29-year-old Air Force veteran, with more than a decade of service, had managed to empty two floors when the bomb exploded, killing 19 U.S. servicemen and injuring hundreds, including Saudis and Bangladeshis.
"There was a loud bang, everything went dark," Guerrero said.
Using a flashlight, Guerrero said, he helped a wounded man out of the building and later returned to look for others.
Looking back now, Guerrero, who has been in Al Khobar for just a month, says he reacted from instinct. "I don't know ... I didn't feel scared. I just knew I had to do something."
U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, surveying the devastation wrought by an estimated 5,000 pounds of explosives, said it was a miracle that more people weren't killed.
A miracle, made possible in some small part to efforts by servicemen like Guerrero.
Related stories:
- Crankshaft of bomb truck found - June 27, 1996
- Bodies of dead servicemen arrive home - June 27, 1996
- General defends safeguards at Saudi complex - June 27, 1996
- Christopher tours Saudi bomb wreckage - June 26, 1996
- Partial list of Americans killed in the blast - June 26, 1996
- President Clinton's remarks - June 25, 1996
- Massive bomb rocks U.S. military complex - June 25, 1996
Related sites:
- Dover Air Force Base
- Air Force News Service
- U.S. Air Force in Europe
- Patrick Air Force Base
- Eglin Air Force Base
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