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Gowen Field observes a moment of silence for Fort Hood victims

by Ysabel Bilbao
Idaho's NewsChannel 7

KTVB.COM

Posted on November 6, 2009 at 4:54 PM

Updated Saturday, Nov 7 at 9:08 PM

 

BOISE -- The suspected gunman in the Fort Hood shootings is still in the hospital, but in police custody.

Thirty-nine-year-old Major Nidal Malik Hasan is alive and in stable condition.

He is accused of walking into a building packed with soldiers preparing for their deployment and opening fire.

It's an event that has affected military men and women all around the world -- from those currently serving on the war fronts to right here at Gowen Field in Boise.

This shooting happened thousands of miles away from Gowen Field, but it feels close to home and has been on the minds of those here.

"Our brothers in arms are bleeding right now. The incident in Fort Hood is touching thousands of families right now throughout the United States," said Col. Robert Lytle, Idaho Army National Guard.

Lytle, a guardsman, who spend much time during his active duty days at Fort Hood, instructed the Idaho soldiers of the call for silence, an order handed down by the Pentagon.

"All U.S. forces will observe a moment of silence beginning at 12:34 local, today Friday November 6, 2009, standby please," said Lt. Col. Tim Marsano, guard spokesman.

And when that time hit, not a sound could be heard.

These men and women are members of Idaho's 116th.  And their meeting Friday afternoon was a call to duty preparedness class. 

The same training those killed in Thursday's attack were attending when one of their own opened fire.

"We were happy to find that we didn't have anyone from the Idaho National Guard there, but we learned this morning that we have a native Idahoan that was wounded there, so it has touched us," said Lytle.

"I listened to my voice mail and it was him in the back of an ambulance saying 'dad I've been shot but I'm going to be okay so don't worry about me," said George Stratton Jr.

In a phone interview from his Post Falls Idaho home, George Stratton Jr. describes how he heard his son had been shot.

"George said that 'dad I heard about 15 rounds go off really quick,'" Stratton said.  "He said I peeked up and this guy was standing right in front of him. Like five feet away. He then shot him and he went down." 

Stratton's son was shot in the shoulder. He's now in a Texas hospital and his father hopes he can visit soon.

"I would just ask the viewing audience out there to take a moment and say a prayer for these families because this is a significant event for them," said Lytle.

Fort Hood is the largest military installation in the world with 60,000 soldiers and family members at the base.

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