Robert C. Wade, a 1977 Hackensack High School graduate, who lived on Vanderbeck Place in Hackensack until 1986, was an Army reservist who was sent with the 14th Quartermaster detachment, a
United States Army Reserve water purification unit stationed in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He was one of 35 filler personal from other units to help with the operation during Desert Storm. Robert C. Wade was living in Savannah, Georgia with his wife and 17 month old daughter, working as a diesel mechanic for a bus company when he was called to active duty. The 14th Quartermaster detachment, arrived in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on February 19, 1991 and were quartered, or housed, in a warehouse that had been converted to a temporary barracks.

At 8:40 p.m. {12:40 p.m. EST} on February 25, 1991, parts of a SCUD missile destroyed the barracks housing Robert C. Wade and the other men on the mission. This was the single most devastating attack on U. S. forces during Desert Storm, 29 soldiers died and 99 were wounded. Robert C. Wade was among those killed when that SCUD missile struck their barracks on that fateful day.

Written by:
Bob Meli
June 20, 2007