Families, survivors mark 1991 missile attack that killed reservists based near Greensburg

For more than three decades, Norman Madison Sr. has made the trip on Feb. 25 from his Monessen home to the Hempfield community of Carbon to honor his son.

A memorial there honors Anthony Madison along with 12 other members of the 14th Quartermaster unit based near Greensburg who were killed in 1991 by an Iraqi Scud missile in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

“It hurts to come up here. When I drive up the hill, it hurts my heart and I get real emotional,” said Madison, an 86-year-old military veteran who said he persuaded his son to join the Greensburg Army Reserve unit.

Anthony Madison was 27 when he and his colleagues, assigned to conduct water purification efforts as part of the Operation Desert Storm conflict, were killed when a missile fired from Iraqi troops struck the unit’s barracks just hours before hostilities were set to end.

His father and dozens of other family, friends and survivors gathered Sunday at the unit’s headquarters in Carbon for what has become an annual tradition to remember those who died in the attack 33 years ago.

They shared stories of loved ones lost and honored their memory by filling red, white and blue sand into a vase that was then sprinkled outside at the memorial erected years earlier to honor their service.

“I keep coming every year. It makes me feel good to know he was here and share with families what we share,” Madison said. “I love this place and love the people who are here.”

Operation Desert Storm was a five-week U.S military operation in which troops were deployed to expel Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait. The conflicted ended Feb. 28, 1991, just three days after the Scud missile attack.

Oliver Anderson, 57, of Churchill was in the barracks when the missile hit. He remembers that night as if it had just happened. He said he was tired from the day’s work and passed on an invitation to join some of his friends for a game of Trivial Pursuit in another area of the barracks.

Many of those who opted to play were killed in the blast, Anderson said.

“I was laying down, asleep, I heard a loud blast,” Anderson said. “It sent me sailing across the room, and I landed on a pile of rubble. There was smoke and lots of small fires. At first I thought I should stay put until I was rescued.”

He said he didn’t realize the severity of the attack until he was placed on the top bunk in an ambulance and looked over to see the body of a friend who didn’t survive the bombing.

Oliver suffered shrapnel wounds to his arms, legs, shoulder and buttocks and for years suffered from emotional scars.

Retired Army Col. Mike Blahovec wasn’t assigned to the 14th Quartermaster, but the Armbrust native said he was compelled to attend Sunday’s ceremony to honor his fallen brothers.

“We’re going to keep the memories of these soldiers’ lives forever. These soldiers will never be forgotten,” Blahovec said.

Christine Keough Poth of North Huntingdon was among more than a dozen members of her family who honored her brother. Frank Keough, 22, had been in Saudi Arabia just six days before the missile hit.

“I dropped him off here in January 1991, and I said I’ll see him again here. I never did,” Poth said. “He was a character. He was funny, and he was friends with everyone. We come here to share our memories of happy times.”

For families, the memories are also bittersweet.

Madison recalled the last time he saw his son, just days before his deployment. He had sneaked away from his unit in Virginia to make a brief visit to his father, who was in the hospital, Madison recalled.

“I knew my son wasn’t coming back,” Madison said. “That’s the way I felt. He told me he’d be back. It bothers me. It still bothers me.”