Fort Hood Victims List

As a former Army medical evacuation pilot and Vietnam veteran, John Van Buskirk doesn’t shock easily. But of yesterday’s violence at Ft. Hood, the Dallas man says, “You never think something like this is going to happen in America, particularly on a military installation.” Van Buskirk is not only shocked. He’s also worried about the soldiers and the 40 staff members who were at the post’s medical processing center. It’s a place John Van Buskirk says he was the Commander of for two years, until he retired in August.

John Van Buskirk says, “I told my wife early this morning I don’t know how somebody could go in and fire a semi-automatic pistol and another pistol in a crowded building like that and not hit some of the staff. I just don’t see how that’s possible.”

Van Buskirk gave us pictures of the center he says were taken about a year ago. They show how packed it can get. He says on a busy day there could be 100 soldiers in the 5,000 square foot building that has few places to hide. They could be targets from the start. John Van Buskirk says, “When you first walk in the door, there’s about 40 chairs there, people sitting, waiting to see the health care providers.”

John Van Buskirk is trying to stay calm tonight through the torturous waiting game. He’s relying on his 20 years of military practice for that, as well as a bit of humor and a touch of denial. He says, “I actually think I try to push it away so I just don’t dwell on it.” But he says, that is easier said than done.