LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA. –
On March 31, 1990, the lives of eight Airmen were forever changed in a few short moments, when three snipers attacked amid the hillsides of Honduras.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Patrick Kelly, NATO Communications Information Services Agency command staff group commander, said the incident in Honduras shaped his entire career. Making him realize how fleeting and fragile life can be, Kelly said the event made him bolder and a little fearless.
"The attack happened within seconds," explained Kelly. "Before we knew it, it was over."
When the dust settled, eight Airmen were wounded on their bus bound from Soto Cano Air Force Base to Jamastran, Honduras. Among the wounded was Airman 1st Class Patrick Kelly, who at the time was a computer operator with the 33rd Communications Squadron.
"At first I saw everything else; it was like a slow motion video," Kelly recalled. "Dean got hit in the artery, so the first thing I remember is the fountain of blood coming out of him."
The injured Airmen were on temporary duty to Jamastran at the time of the attack. Kelly survived, only suffering a gunshot wound to his leg. Another survivor of the attack was Dean Dark, who at the time was a Senior Airman. Dark suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
"It was my first real deployment with combat communications after joining the Air Force," Kelly said. "It was really the first rest and relaxation trip that we had down there."
Through the years, Dark has gone through brain rehab, and received a number of surgeries.
"The last time I saw Dean was at Wilford Hall," Kelly remembers. "Once we were shot, we were medically evacuated by Army helicopter from Tegucigalpa back to Soto Cano, to Panama and then to Wilford Hall."
After 22 years, Kelly and Dark will finally reunite at Kelly's upcoming retirement ceremony.
"It's going to be emotional. It's one of those things that has been with me my entire career," Kelly explained, "I didn't really know Dean before. It has just been that one incident that has brought us together, and we've stayed in touch through the years."
Although Dark's injuries ended his career, Kelly went on to have a full 23-year career in the Air Force. He served numerous assignments in multiple locations around the world.
"If anything, I would say that this event made my drive to excel much stronger" he said.
That drive has made Kelly look to the future as he ends this chapter of his life at Langley Air Force Base, Va., Aug. 17, 2012.
"The greatest satisfaction I have had throughout my career has been flying humanitarian and peacekeeping missions," said Kelly. "If I could take anything to the future communities, it would be anti-violence."