View Full Version : A Friend In Need
I just found out that a colleague of mine that I went through NPS with, was in Haiti and had just checked into his hotel moments before the earthquake hit. Still no news on if he is okay or not.
Please keep Ken Bourland and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Utah Bob
01-17-2010, 10:49
I saw that on CNN last night. They had just pulled out an Army officer and he said his friend Maj Ken Bourland was still in the hotel.
Prayers up.
My thoughts are with you afchic, and can only hope that all who have survived find strength, peace, and comfort.
Holly
Apparently he was there for a disaster relief conference. All the other members of his party are alive and accounted for.
Prayers for the Major and his family. :(
AngelsSix
01-17-2010, 19:44
Wow. It boggles my mind how many people have been affected by this disaster. Hope he is okay.
MAJ Bourland and his family will be in my prayers.
The last email. (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/17/airforce.major.missing/)
(CNN) -- Peggy Bourland can't eat. When she lies down to sleep, she fights the urge to go outside and curl up on the cold, hard ground.
"Ken can't eat right now. He can't sleep in our bed," she said, her husband's military dog tags around her neck. "I won't have what he cannot have."
Last Tuesday, from his room at the Hotel Montana near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, U.S. Air Force Maj. Ken Bourland sent an e-mail to his wife telling her that he was fine and had just settled in for what was going to be an exciting time taking a disaster preparedness course.
It was 4:51 p.m. ET.
Less than 10 minutes later, an earthquake leveled much of the Haitian capital, including the Hotel Montana.
"I had just clicked off the e-mail and was trying to find some cartoons for the kids to watch," she said. "And then I saw this breaking news. An earthquake. I thought, 'Did California get hit again?' Then I saw Haiti."
Bourland popped her laptop open and fired off an e-mail: "Please tell me you're OK."
No response.
Crews have spent the past six days searching mounds of rubble, 30 feet high in places, that was the Hotel Montana, popular with tourists and visiting officials. Some United Nations employees who lived there remain unaccounted for, the U.N. said Sunday, and Alain Joyandet, the French minister of cooperation, said approximately 200 French tourists staying there had not been heard from.
There is reason to hope. On Friday, a woman trapped in the hotel's collapsed bar was rescued. In the past few days, students from South Florida's Lynn University, who were in Haiti on a humanitarian mission to feed the poor, were freed from the Montana's rubble. Six others with the university are reportedly still missing.
Peggy Bourland gets two calls a day at her suburban South Florida home -- one at night, one in the morning -- from the family's assigned military liaison. There's nothing to say, really. She's told to be optimistic. She tries.
After the second call, when she has tucked the couple's sons, 16-month-old Andrew and 3-year-old Charley into bed, she allows herself to cry. "I don't do it in front of them."
She finds it overwhelming to return to thoughts about the Sunday before Ken Bourland left. It was Charley's birthday, and another military family came over. "Ken sang to him and we all said, 'Daddy's going on another trip.'"
The Bourlands' fifth wedding anniversary will be in March. Their first date -- set up by her boss and his sister -- was one with hours of talk and lost time. She liked the fact that he asked questions about every conceivable scenario that might arise from a decision. He analyzed, where she just went with it. He prepared for the small and big things. He had been mulling for weeks, exhausting Google, over what kind of television to buy.
Ken's steady demeanor has rubbed off on Chance, his stepson. Peggy's son was 9 when she introduced him to Ken. The helicopter pilot endeared himself quickly with camping and a mutual zest for video games and remote control cars. Now 13, Chance understands what's going on.
"I let him talk when he wants to," she said. "But sometimes there's nothing to say. You just wait and continue to wait, hoping for something good."
I pray for the best!
Pat
Still no word. I just spoke with another friend at SOUTHCOM who will act as the Family Liason Officer, if and when he is not found alive. Apparently Ken is listed as DUSTWUN, but only for 10 days. After 10 days missing he will be reclassified, but I don't know what that classification will be.
Red Flag 1
01-19-2010, 10:03
Prayers out for Maj Bourland, and his family!!
TrapLine
01-19-2010, 10:14
Prayers out for Maj Bourland, his family and afchic.
greenberetTFS
01-19-2010, 14:01
Prayers out for Maj Bourland, and his family!!
Same here....... :( I hope even after 10 days there is still a chance he's going to be alright..... Trust God.
LongWire
01-19-2010, 16:28
Prayers to all of the Bourlands.......
They're still pulling survivors out of the rubble, there's always hope. Everyone is still in my prayers.
Prayers out to his family and to him. Jesus has a plan for him, Major bourland and for his family.
His family is very religeous, so whatever happens with Ken, they will make it through, with their faith in God and His plan.
Still no news this morning. Bill O'reilly was talking about the 19 Americans that are still believed to be int he rubble in the Montana, and asked that DoD send as many folks as possible over there to dig through the rubble.
Apparently they stopped all the heavy moving equipment yesterday, brought in some acoustic equipment and could tell there were still survivors in there. We'll see what today brings. Hope shines eternal.
I think the DoD is doing everything they can right now, and think that they have plenty to do around the rest of the area. As hard of a pill as it is to swallow, I know that Ken wouldn't want them to divert from their primary mission to come and find him, that is just the kind of guy he is.
I will say a prayer for him, his family and all others that are still missing. Never give up hope.
Stingray
01-20-2010, 17:19
Prayers from my family to him and his.
Still no news, but from what I have heard from other family members of those trapped in the Montana, the first and second floors of a couple of the buildings didn't collapse. Ken was in room 220. The rescue crews are just having a hard time getting to that area. There are 18-19 Americans still unaccounted for at the hotel.
I pray that no matter the outcome, all the families of the 200 or so still in the hotel will have a chance to see their loved ones again.
Prayers out for your colleague, and all of them
They recovered Ken's body yesterday. His family is flying to Dover today to bring him home. I think they are going to bury him at the Alabama National Cemetary.
Rest in Peace my Friend
So sorry to hear this, I'd been wondering.
:(
Anotyher friend at SOUTHCOM said DoD had not confirmed the reports circulating on the internet. Apparently they will be releasing something today. I will post once I recieve it
Prayers out to the family
Red Flag 1
02-08-2010, 10:27
Sad news.
Rest In Peace Maj Bourland!!
armymom1228
02-08-2010, 10:35
They recovered Ken's body yesterday. His family is flying to Dover today to bring him home. I think they are going to bury him at the Alabama National Cemetary.
Rest in Peace my Friend
RIP Ken, my heart and sympathy to your family.
AFC, I will add his name to another Mass card this week.
There is a Facebook page for those still missing at the Hotel Montana. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haiti-Earthquake-Hotel-Montana/245595172631?v=box_3&ref=nf#!/note.php?note_id=291395704522) Major Bourland was mentioned in the Sunday evening update.
RIP Ken, my heart and sympathy to your family.
AFC, I will add his name to another Mass card this week.
Thank You!!
RIP. May his family find peace. Please accept my condolences.
ZonieDiver
02-08-2010, 12:21
Rest In Peace, sir.
greenberetTFS
02-08-2010, 12:31
Rest in Peace, Warrior....................:(
Big Teddy
Tatonka316
02-08-2010, 12:54
Rest in Peace, Major. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. You will ALWAYS be missed and NEVER forgotten.
molon labe
LongWire
02-08-2010, 22:24
Rest Easy Sir.........
I'm so sorry to hear this. My condolences...may he Rest in Peace.
It is a sad irony. From his last e-mail:
Last Tuesday, from his room at the Hotel Montana near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, U.S. Air Force Maj. Ken Bourland sent an e-mail to his wife telling her that he was fine and had just settled in for what was going to be an exciting time taking a disaster preparedness course.
Rest in Peace, Major.
Pat
Thank you to you all for your prayers and well wishes.
This just went out from Gen Fraser:
To our US SOUTHCOM Warriors and Familia:
It is with great sadness that I announce the loss of a key member of the U.S. Southern Command family, Lieutenant-Colonel Select Ken Bourland.
Ken has been missing since the earthquake occurred in Haiti and was found on Monday at the Hotel Montana. He was transferred to Dover Air Force Base yesterday where he was met by his wife Peggy, his stepson, sister, parents and the SOUTHCOM J5.
Many of you knew Ken through his outstanding work as a Caribbean Desk Officer. All of us who worked with Ken regarded him as the consummate Air Force professional, who could always be counted upon for the toughest assignment; as well as a caring teammate who went out of his way to help others and build cohesion amongst his peers. His easygoing demeanor and quick wit endeared him to his colleagues and his superb performance resulted in his selection to become the Caribbean Division Chief upon his promotion to lieutenant colonel.
Ken was also a wonderful husband, father, son and brother and he will be sorely missed by Peggy, their sons Charley and Andrew, his stepson Chance, his parents Dennis and Adrienne, and his sister Kellie.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. We will miss him and his loss will be deeply felt within the command, the United States Air Force, and our nation.
Douglas M. Fraser, General, USAF
Commander
I just recieved word that the AF has promoted Ken, posthumously, to Lt Col today.
Stingray
02-13-2010, 00:59
Rest in Peace LTC. Thank you for your service Sir.
Sincerely,
Scimitar
02-20-2010, 01:07
Found on AKO earlier today...
My prayers out to the family...
Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, deputy commander, U.S. Southern Command and commanding general, Joint Task Force-Haiti speaks at a memorial service held for Air Force Lt. Col. Kenneth Bourland at Logistic Support Area Dragon here Feb. 12. Bourland perished in the Jan. 12 earthquake that rocked the nation of Haiti. (Photo by U.S. Army)
spherojon
02-20-2010, 03:08
This is very sad news:( My prayers go out to his family and friends. RIP LTC