AEDC personnel recognize Workers’ Memorial Day

  • Published
  • By Scott Nikodym
  • Health and Environmental
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  "Remember the dead - Fight for the living." 

That's the slogan for Worker's Memorial Day, which is observed annually on April 28 by the United States and many countries internationally. This day was established to honor workers who have died on the job, to acknowledge the suffering experienced by families and communities, and to commit to the fight for safe and healthful workplaces for all workers.

In 2013, 4,585 workers died on the job across the United States and more than 3 million sustained non-fatal injuries or illnesses according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  These are faceless numbers that most people don't relate to unless they, a family member, close friend or coworker was among those who were killed or injured.

We all come to work with the expectation that we will return home safely at the end of each day just as we always have, yet it's a somber fact that since 1958, the nation's annual fatality statistics have included a total of 16 members of the AEDC community. Four were due to falls from heights; four due to structural collapse during construction; four due to solid rocket propellant explosion; two due to inert gas asphyxiation; and two due to blunt force trauma from failed equipment.

Rather than being faceless statistics, these individuals were known to members of the AEDC community and are identified on a memorial monument located in front of the Administrative and Engineering Building (A&E building).

While a great deal of time and money has been spent working to eliminate or control serious hazards at AEDC, the potentials for unanticipated equipment failures, adverse environmental conditions, and human errors or omissions continue to pose risks to personnel. The best defenses against these residual risks are knowledge and awareness of the potential hazards; compliance with requirements and procedures; and each individual's willingness to take actions to protect themselves and others when potentially serious hazards arise.

Please take a moment to remember both the people who have lost their lives at AEDC and the family members whose lives were forever changed as a result.

While there is nothing we can do to undo past fatalities at AEDC, we all share the responsibility for preventing the next one from occurring. Please make a personal commitment to taking actions in each task that you perform to help prevent the occurrence of future fatalities and serious injuries at AEDC.

AEDC's Fallen Workers include:

6/5/1958 - Charles Stratton
12/17/1962 - W. A. Anderson, Ernie Beitel, Woodrow Darden, William Lowrie
4/4/1968 - Wayne McBee
5/25/1970 - John Serefin
12/10/1971 - John Hill, Alvin Overman
8/4/1978 - Thomas Himebaugh
11/27/1982 - John Sipe, Murray Tauscher, Arthur Totten, Dona Roy
10/31/1984 - Larry Childers
4/23/2001 - Arcenio Avila