March 21, 1991. 4:45am, Gulf War, Ras Al Misab, Kicker Station on the GSG-2 Fuel Farm, 8th Eng Spt BN, 2nd FSSG, 2 MEF, Cpl. Mallory and I (Cpl. Hoskinson) had been at the station for the last three days, decompressing, working and feeling better after the cease fire of the ground war. The station was located on the outside of the Saudi airfield fence, just a pump and a cramped bunker located between the fuel farm and the dispersion point. The night was smoky and the airfield was still under blackout. Whenever something needed to land, the craft would buzz the tower, the lights would go on, they would land and the lights would switch off. A Saudi C-130 buzzed the tower and no one turned on the lights. The plane banked and attempted to land, putting a wing into the ground, sliding in our direction. All I remember is seeing a flash of sparks and hearing what sounded like a thousand tin cans rolling around. We hopped into the bunker and prayed. It stopped short of the fence and we called for help. No one would believe us. We got out and started running to the crash when the mess just exploded. Rounds started cooking off , we picked ourselves up and went back to the bunker. Behind the bunker, not in. We wanted a bouble wall between us and the crash. That puppy burned and there was no emergancy response from the airfield. Things quieted down and we heard the pilots pounding on the cockpit windows. Help finally arrived and they pulled the pilots out. In the end, all that was left was the tail section, the cockpit windows and the nose. We found out later that the plane was carring Sengalese troops who were returning form a trip to Mecca. All 92 died plus the six Saudi air crew. I've seen a little summary of this event on Wikkipedia, but I thought I'd share my story with my fellow Marines on Grumpy's… P.S. Mallory passed away in the Fall of 1999…
Sgt. Hoskinson (MacGyver)…Tucson Marine…1989-1996