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Airmen salute
Sacred Falls victimSee: 'One Year Later' from last Friday
By Jaymes K. Song
Star-BulletinFourteen Hickam airmen closed their eyes, said a prayer and saluted their friend and hero, Master Sgt. Scott Huling, one of eight people who died a year ago yesterday at Sacred Falls State Park.
"He was a model human being," said Senior Master Sgt. Mike Hoodenpyle. "He was a great father, a great husband and the best in his field."
Huling, 36, was killed in the May 9 rockfall, but his wife and three young boys survived and have since moved back to the mainland.
Senior Master Sgt. Bill Jones said no matter the time or what anyone needed, Huling was always there.
"He's the kind of guy you want your daughter to meet," Jones said.
Huling served 16 years in the Air Force and was named Hawaii's top first sergeant of the year in 1997 and also served as president of the Hawaii First Sergeants Association. He was in charge of the morale, health and welfare of his unit and their families.
All the airmen yesterday described Huling as a "great man."
"I miss him very much," said Chief Master Sgt. Lamar Trowell. "It's very hard to lose someone like him."
Trowell spoke to Huling the night before the Mother's Day rock fall and planned to go to Sacred Falls with his family. But Trowell decided to go to lunch instead of hiking.
"He would do anything for you, even give you his shirt off his back," he said.
