Airmen return for bittersweet homecoming
Saudi Arabia Bombing
Elgin Air Force Base
Memorial Service
Sunday 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT)June 28, 1996
Web posted at: 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT)EGLIN AFB, Florida (CNN) -- Family members showered more than 200 Air Force personnel from the 58th fighter squadron with tears, hugs and kisses Friday at Eglin Air Force Base, three days after a bomb blast killed several members of the squadron in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
The unit was originally scheduled to return home Thursday night after a two-and-a-half month tour of duty. But that homecoming was moved back after a bomb ripped through the high-rise apartment building they were living in Dhahran.
Eight members of the unit were confirmed dead, and four others are unaccounted for. A total of 19 U.S. servicemen died in the attack.
Twenty-one troops who returned Friday were wounded in the blast, but were treated and released to go home. Eleven others from the 58th are hospitalized for broken bones and other serious injuries. Ten of them were flown to Germany, one remains in Saudi Arabia for surgery.
On Saturday, 18 F-15's from the 33rd fighter wing, which is part of the 58th squadron, were to arrive back to the base. Those planes will participate in a flyover during the memorial services set for Sunday.
President Clinton plans to attend those services.
In an emotional service, military personnel gathered early Friday to honor those killed in the attack. They were praised by officers as men who were doing their duty to their nation and to an ally, and mourned by colleagues as friends.
No leads in Saudi explosion
Thursday evening, experts from the FBI combed through the wreckage of the fuel truck used in the bombing.
The investigators were looking for clues to piece together how the attackers managed to procure the tanker and rig it with enough explosives to rip open the side of an apartment building housing U.S. personnel. The agents are hoping that a charred crankshaft discovered Thursday can provide vital clues to the origins of the truck
The FBI and Saudi officials are investigating who carried out the attack. At least two groups, both previously unheard of, have claimed responsibility -- but State Department officials did not immediately lend credence to either report.
"We have no leads whatsoever," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns.
U.S. military officials are investigating how the attackers managed to breach security. Officers said the scale of the bomb was larger than the residential complex's security system was ready for -- an estimated 10 times more powerful than last November's bombing of a U.S. military site in Riyadh by Saudis protesting the U.S. presence in the kingdom. Five Americans and two Indians died in that attack.
"This building we were in, we constantly joked that we were a fine target, out in this corner, right next to the park,"
-- Staff Sgt. Anthony Overbay
"The threshold, the baseline has changed," said Air Force Gen. Kurt Anderson. "Every incident that occurs we learn from. We will now review all our vulnerable situations." (148K AIFF or WAV sound)
Some U.S. servicemen told The New York Times that Saudi security personnel should have been more aggressive at the complex's perimeter.
But U.S. commanders defended the Saudi security.
"Based on the vulnerability assessment we did, and based on the wonderful cooperation we got from the Saudi government, yes, I was satisfied," said Brig. Gen. Terry Schwalier.
In buildings around the blast site, workers cleaned up and began to resume duties that have been carried out by other allied military personnel in the region since the explosion. Air Force personnel in Khobar, in charge of enforcing the no flight zone over southern Iraq, were ready to get back to work.
"Finding out who did it, that's out of our hands," said Master Sgt. James Silvi. "We're here to implement U.N. sanctions and that's what we're getting back to doing." (104K AIFF or WAV sound)
For personnel in Khobar, Friday was a day of closure -- of mourning the loss of colleagues and cleaning up the devastation. But many say they will not be able to put this incident behind them without knowing who did this act and why.
CNN Correspondent Gayle Young, Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Bombing probe looks at possible tie to 1995 terrorist attack - June 28, 1996
- Hero describes desperate seconds before blast - June 28, 1996
- Troops in Saudi Arabia jolted from bed by hoax bomb threat - June 28, 1996
- G-7 leaders pledge to fight terrorism - 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
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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