Rescue Wing members honored five Rescue Airmen and 14 other Airmen killed in a terrorist attack 24 years ago known as the Khobar Towers bombing June 25.
The Khobar Towers bombing of 1996 was a terrorist attack on a U.S. Air Force housing complex in the town of Khobar, near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on June 25, 1996. The individuals identified as members of Hilzballah Al-Hijaz drove a tanker truck packed with 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) of explosives near the complex and then jumped into waiting vehicles, escaping just before detonation. The explosion, which was so loud that it was heard some 20 miles (32 km) away, left a crater 85 feet (26 metres) wide and 35 feet (10.6 metres) deep. Nineteen U.S. service members were killed, and some 500 people were injured.
In all, 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi were killed and 372 of many nationalities were wounded. Several of the wounded were members of the 920th RQW.
The fallen are:
Master Sgt. Michael G. Heiser
Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Johnson
AIC Justin R. Wood
Capt. Christopher J. Adams
Capt. Leland T.Haun
The 920th RQW is a Combined Arms team of special mission personnel and aviation with a mission to plan, lead and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel.
Based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, the wing is the only Air Force Reserve Command that trains and equips its Airmen who carry out its mission, to search for, locate and recover U.S. Armed Forces personnel during military operations. Air Force rescue is the only DoD entity specifically organized, trained and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations into hostile or denied areas as a primary mission.
The 920th Rescue Wing is comprised of 24 subordinate groups and squadrons, including three geographically-separated units--the 943rd Rescue Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., the 304th Rescue Squadron at Portland, Ore, and the 920th Aerospace Medicine Flight at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. The 920th Rescue Wing is responsible for a demanding and compelling array of life-saving missions, and the men and women who work here must maintain a high level of proficiency and be ready to deploy at moment's notice.