Service Honors Casualties Of Gulf War Attack 20 Years Ago

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- It was 20 years ago Friday that the most devastating attack on U.S. forces took place during the Gulf War.

Thirteen soldiers from the 14th Quartermaster in Greensburg were killed during a SCUD attack.

It was the largest number of casualties from any single unit in that war.

Family and friends attended a memorial service in Hempfield Township to honor those who were lost.

U.S. Congressman Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, presented a commemorative draft of the resolution he introduced honoring the lost service men and woman and their families.

At 8:40 p.m., Feb. 25, 1991, an Iraqi missile exploded in the barracks that housed the soldiers of the 14th Quartermaster.

Michael Trout was one of the 43 wounded.

"Then the lights blinked and the bomb hit – destroyed the building," he recalled. "And that's the last thing I remembered till I got up. Smoke everywhere, carnage everywhere."

Pam Mayes lost her sister in the attack.

"It's hard to believe it's been 20 years," she said. "It does seem like it was yesterday. It makes it easier that we've made so many friends … and it's almost like an extended family with the people we've met here."

At the end of the ceremony, a wreath was laid at the Greensburg Army Reserve Center.