Photo By Senior Master Sgt. David Salanitri | Senior Airman Stuart Jones, 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron, salutes...... read more read more
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HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Airmen from the Airman 1st Class John C. Vincent Airman Leadership School participated in a moment of silence, April 18, in recognition of the death of the individual the school was named after.
Airmen from ALS class 11E lowered the flag to half staff in observance of the 15-year anniversary of Vincent's death.
Vincent, a crew chief with the 16th Aircraft Generation Squadron, was killed by a rogue lightning strike while on duty.
Vincent was training on an AC-130H when a lightning warning was issued. He returned to work after the warning had been lifted but a stray bolt landed in the proximity of Vincent, sending 10 other airmen off their feet. Vincent died as a result of a heart attack from the electric current.
"Airman Vincent was looking forward to the chance to attend Airman Leadership School," said Master Sgt. Paula West, ALS commandant. "He's been described as a superstar and someone who loved what he did."
While Team Hurlburt has lost numerous airmen in overseas contingency operations, this is considered to be the first causality on the installation.
ALS Class 11E was the first class to recognize this day in ALS history.
"We haven't had a memorial for Airman Vincent before," said West. "As I did my research on Airman Vincent, this story hit home. His daughter is about to graduate from high school, and his widow was very moved to hear that her husband hasn't been forgotten about."
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2011 10:46 |
| Story ID: | 69099 |
| Location: | HURLBURT FIELD, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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