KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which occurred June 25, 1996. For one 403rd Wing member, that day proved to be a vivid and marked experience.
Chief Master Sgt. Josephine Keller, 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron chief enlisted manager, was a senior airman at the time who had been serving as a medical technician with the 452nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. She had deployed to King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in April of 1996 as part of a 90-day tour, serving as one of the more than 5,000 Americans military members assigned to the base as part of the mission to help enforce the southern no-fly zone imposed over Iraq after the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
The evening of the bombing started out peacefully enough, and Keller had decided she wanted to take a stroll around the perimeter of the base. In that particular location, women were not allowed to walk around the compound unaccompanied, so she convinced another young Airman to walk with her.
The two had just passed the dormitory where the explosion occurred, and had almost made it to the next building, when the truck bomb detonated.
“There was this huge flash of light and a big boom,” said Keller. “There were little specks of light going up in the sky inside of a huge gray cloud of smoke and dirt.”
The blast knocked the two Airmen to the ground, and they crawled, shocked and bleeding, to the closest building to try and find shelter. They decided not to enter when they saw bleeding and injured people running out of the building.
Keller and the other Airman sustained minor cuts and bruises from the blast. During the chaos that ensued, Keller made her way over to an open area near the dining facility that acted as a temporary triage, where she and other medical personnel began tending to the wounded that were arriving, using whatever they had available to treat the injured.
“There were people lying on the ground,” said Keller. “We’d work on them, get a determination of their condition and move on to the next person.”
The dining facility as well as the Air Force and Army clinics close by were set up for the temporary medical operations, and local Saudi medics and workers from other countries began arriving to help out as well.
Keller said that the whole ordeal passed by in a surreal blur as she worked more than 30 hours non-stop to help take care of the hundreds of injured people. One memory that stood out as she assisted in the Air Force clinic was the site of blood that practically coated the floors of the hallways.
The bomb, which was estimated between 20,000-30,000 pounds, left a crater 85 feet wide and 35 feet deep. In all, 19 U.S. service members died during the bombing and nearly 500 people sustained injuries from the ordeal.
For her outstanding contributions, Keller received a certificate of appreciation from the 4404th Operations Group, which was part of the 440th Wing (Provisional) assigned to King Abdul Aziz AB, and also received the Purple Heart for the injuries she sustained while serving during that time.
Keller remarked that sometimes it is still difficult to think about the experience, but that she was proud to be able to serve in the way that she did. She ended by encouraging others who have gone through traumatic ordeals to seek the assistance they need, both professionally and through the comfort of friends and family.