Volleys of gunfire. The sounding of taps. The folding of the American flag. These three moments are part of a final farewell for those who served their country. They are accolades reserved for veterans — military honors presented at a cemetery or memorial service. The honors are extended to anyone
A sudden blast jolted Neal Gouker awake.
The explosion from an Iraqi Scud missile slammed him against a wall in his barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
“The place was on fire, and bullets were going off,” recalled Gouker, 50, formerly of Glassport. “For 5 miles around, there were broken windows. It was chaotic.
“My left side was hit with shrapnel. It hit a nerve, and I had temporary paralysis and a bad limp on my left side. I had to work through that.”
Three decades have passed since that devastating attack on the Westmoreland County-based 14th Quartermaster Detachment.
But the date Feb. 25, 1991 forever changed the lives of Gouker and 42 other members of the Army Reserve unit who were wounded, and the families of 13 others in the water purification outfit who didn’t survive the missile strike at the end of
GREENSBURG, Pa. (Tribune News Services) A sudden blast jolted Neal Gouker awake. The explosion from an Iraqi Scud missile slammed him against a wall in his barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The place was on fire, and bullets were going off, recalled Gouker, 50, formerly of Glassport. For 5 miles around, there were broken windows. It was chaotic. My left side was hit with shrapnel. It hit a nerve, and I had temporary paralysis and a bad limp on my left side. I had to work through that. Three decades have passed since that devastating attack on the Westmoreland County-based 14th Quartermaster Detachment.