Published November 08, 2009 09:12 am - Fear of a fellow solider unleashing his rage through a hail of gunfire was never a concern for generations of veterans.
Local vets reflect on Fort Hood incident
By WARREN DILLAWAY - Staff Writer Star Beacon
Fear of a fellow solider unleashing his rage through a hail of gunfire was never a concern for generations of veterans.
That has changed for soldiers serving in a new and different world that includes the potential for tragedy when stress, anger and other factors combine to create a walking time bomb inside a soldier.
Area veterans shared their thoughts and feelings after Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan of the U.S. Army allegedly walked into a Fort Hood room full of soldiers and opened fire Thursday.
Hasan allegedly walked into a Soldier Readiness Center and shot more than 40
people before he was shot by a civilian police officer, according to wire reports.
“Things are so different now,” said Melvin Deems, of Geneva, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict.
“It’s sad. It’s very sad. I really don’t know what to think,” he said.
Gary Petrochello served in the U.S. Army from 1972-74. He said he wondered if weapons searches at military installations had grown lax since the post 911 security checks were beefed up.
Allan Wilenius, of Ashtabula, was stationed at Fort Hood from 1961 to 1964. He said more than 45 years have made some of the memories distant, but one set sticks out for a lifetime.
Wilenius said his unit had just returned from a mission in Germany and was preparing to be reviewed by President John F. Kennedy, but the inspection never occurred.
An assassins bullet changed that in a matter of seconds.
“Everybody was stunned, everyone was sad. He was supposed to come down by helicopter (later that day),” Wilenius said.
“It ended up being an honor guard parade for his funeral,” he said.
Wilenius said the base was humongous. “It was set up for tank training,” he said.
While watching the aftermath of the shooting on television Wilenius said he only recognized a few of the places at Fort Hood.
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