The 14th Quartermaster Detachment, is a
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...
unit stationed in
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a part of the Greater Pittsbu ...
. During
Operation Desert Storm, the detachment lost 13 soldiers and 43 would be wounded in an Iraqi
Al Hussein ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
attack on 25 February 1991 at
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the 14th, which had been in Saudi Arabia only six days, suffered the greatest number of casualties of any allied unit during Operation Desert Storm. Eighty-one percent of the unit's 69 soldiers had been killed or wounded.
Mobilization, training and deployment
On 15 January 1991, the 14th
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
Detachment was mobilized for service in Operation Desert Storm. Three days later, the unit arrived at
Fort Lee, Virginia to conduct intensive mobilization training in preparation for deployment to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. For the next 30 days, detachment soldiers trained 18 hours a day on the
Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) water purification system and common soldier tasks. The unit, augmented by 35 filler personnel from other active Army and reserve units, arrived in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on 19 February 1991. The detachment's soldiers were quartered in a warehouse that had been converted to a temporary barracks. There, they waited for the arrival of unit equipment and movement to a field support location.
Al-Hussein missile attack
At 8:40 pm (12:40 pm EST) on 25 February 1991, parts of an Iraqi
Al Hussein Scud missile destroyed the barracks housing members of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment. The failure of the
Patriot air defense system in tracking the Scud missile over Dhahran was provoked by a shift in the range gate of the radar due to the continuous use of the software for more than 100 hours without resetting. The radar initially detected the incoming Scud but lost track of the Al-Hussein when the system failed to predict its new position.
[Higham, Nicholas J (1996). ''Accuracy and stability of numerical algorithms''. SIAM, p. 506. ] In the single, most devastating attack on U.S. forces during that war, 28 soldiers died and 99 were wounded. The 14th Quartermaster Detachment lost 13 soldiers and suffered 43 wounded. Casualties were evacuated to medical facilities in Saudi Arabia and Germany.
Response to attack
No U.S. community suffered a more significant loss during Operation Desert Storm than Greensburg, a Southwestern Pennsylvania town of 18,000 near
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. Once word of the attack reached
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, the 99th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM), parent unit of the 14th, began a 24-hour-a-day vigil at the Greensburg Reserve Center to assist family members in their pain and grief. The 99th ARCOM and the 1st Army set up a casualty assistance center in town with chaplains, counselors, social workers, and representatives from several federal agencies. They also assisted family members with visits to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Local citizens volunteered to assist in these efforts.
Pennsylvania's governor declared a week of mourning and ordered flags on all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff.
A community memorial service was held on 2 March 1991. Over 1,500 citizens attended, filling the First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg on 300 S Main Street and its adjoining grounds. Local ministers, the mayor, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and the Secretary of the Army honored the members of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment killed in the missile attack.
"They were all of us," said Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, "a high school football star, a lover of country music, future homemakers of America, secretaries and salesmen, hunters and fishermen, postal workers and volunteer firemen, friends and lovers, fathers, sons, brothers, and two of our daughters."
Bright yellow ribbons decorated the windows of homes and stores in Greensburg, but there were also black ribbons and wreaths lining the streets in remembrance of the 13 soldiers who were killed.
Unit redeployment
The 14th arrived at their mobilization station, Fort Lee, Virginia, on 8 March 1991. They were welcomed back at a special ceremony on Sergeant Seay Field by the Fort Lee community as well as the
Quartermaster General,
Brigadier General Paul J. Vanderploog and the Post Commander,
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Leon Salomon. General Vanderploog pinned
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
s on two soldiers and
National Defense Service Medals on all. General Salomon told the assembled unit they "will be a part of our proud history. We are saddened by your grief, but at the same time we are proud of your accomplishments. Stand tall. Hold your heads up high. The 14th Quartermaster Detachment has made a difference, and then some."
The 14th Quartermaster Detachment returned home to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on 9 March 1991. Twenty-three soldiers returned home with the unit; seven of these returning soldiers had been wounded during the attack. At the time of the unit's return to the United States, many of its soldiers were still in hospital recovery wards. They were greeted at Latrobe Airport by family and community members as well as several dignitaries, including the
Major General James Baylor, Commander, 99th Army Reserve Command;
Congressman John Murtha and Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor
Mark Singel.
Most of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment members were released from active duty by 1 June 1991. More than a dozen of the unit's soldiers continued to receive medical care at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...
.
The 14th Quartermaster Detachment is still on the rolls of the U.S. Army Reserve. None of the soldiers with the unit when it deployed to Saudi Arabia are still assigned. In 1999, the unit was deployed again, this time to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, to provide fresh water to soldiers involved in assisting victims of
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...
. The unit was mobilized again in 2004 for a one-year deployment to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit returned without any casualties.
Memorials
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
On the first anniversary of this devastating loss, 25 February 1992, a monument to the 14th Quartermaster Detachment was dedicated at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Army Chief of Staff, General
Gordon R. Sullivan gave the keynote address and assisted in unveiling the monument. Remarks were given by numerous dignitaries, including Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Senator
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
, Senator Harris Wofford, Congressmen,
John Murtha, Major General James Baylor (Commander, 99th Army Reserve Command), and members of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment – (Specialist Neal E. Gouker).
The monument consists of a horizontal granite slab as a base, upon which three vertical granite stones weighing 12,000 pounds rest. Perched atop the center pillar is a cast bronze bald eagle. Etched in the center pillar is the emblem of the U.S. Army
Quartermaster Corps
Following is a list of quartermaster corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties:
* Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army
* Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...
, preceded by the following quotes:
In honor of the men and women of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment who served both God and country loyally in Operation Desert Storm...
"I have seen in your eyes a fire of determination to get this job done quickly so that we may return to the shore of our great country. My confidence in you is total, our cause is just! Now you must be the thunder and lightning of Desert Storm." General Norman Schwarzkopf
The 69 names of the Detachment soldiers who deployed to Saudi Arabia are featured on two bronze plaques on the front of the right and left stones. On the rear of the left stone is an etching of a female soldier's hands holding the American flag. On the rear of the right stone is an etched map of the Persian Gulf, indicating the locations of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
To the left front of the monument is an actual-sized bronze casting of the boots, M-16 rifle, and helmet, symbolic of the fallen soldier. To the right front are two life-size cast bronze figures: a kneeling man and a standing woman in desert battle dress uniforms, reflecting on the loss of their comrades.
On the cement wall surrounding the monument is a bronze plaque listing the names of the 28 soldiers killed in action. Behind the wall are three flagpoles bearing the flags of the United States, Pennsylvania, and the United States Army. Behind the monument are 13
hemlock trees, the Pennsylvania state tree, planted as a living tribute to the 13 soldiers of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment who lost their lives in the war. The monument faces 90° due east, toward Saudi Arabia.
Fort Lee, Virginia
On 20 April 1991, the Quartermaster Center and School dedicated a new Water Training Facility on 41st Street in memory of the fallen members of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment. A stone monument and plaque list the names of the 13 deceased unit members.
On 3 March 1993, Fort Lee also dedicated one of its gymnasiums as "Clark Gym" in honor of Specialist Beverly Sue Clark of Armagh. Members of the Clark family also raised over $100,000 to endow a scholarship in her name at
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a Public university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...
.
Keystone State
On 20 July 1998, the U.S. Army Reserve Barge Derrick 6801, Keystone State, was named in honor of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment. The Keystone State is the state nickname of Pennsylvania.
References
{{Reflist
14th Quartermaster Detachment
Quartermaster detachments of the United States Army
Greensburg, Pennsylvania