By WYATT OLSON | STARS AND STRIPES
The stabbing death of an airman last week at Andersen Air Force Base was a homicide, Guam’s chief medical examiner said Wednesday.
Airman 1st Class Bradley Hale, 20, who was deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., was found unresponsive at a temporary lodging facility and declared dead March 27 at about 3 a.m., the Air Force said.
An airman, who has not been charged or identified, was arrested after a knife was found at the scene. He was “read his rights and placed in pretrial confinement on suspicion of Article 118 (Murder or Manslaughter),” the Air Force said.
Dr. Aurelio Espinola, chief medical examiner in Guam, said there were three fatal wounds to Hale’s neck along with numerous superficial cuts.
Suspect arrested in apparent stabbing death of airman on Guam
Espinola, who did not perform the autopsy, said he was given the autopsy report by the Air Force.
The Air Force is still investigating the death and has not disclosed information about the autopsy or the airman in custody.
Barksdale Air Force base officials said Hale of Montgomery, Texas, was an electronic warfare journeyman who had been assigned to the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 2nd Bomb Wing. He had been the service for about two years, according to the officials.
The 2nd Bomb Wing includes B-52H Stratofortress multirole bombers, which are capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons. The bombers have been routinely deployed to Guam in recent years – along with B-1 conventional and B-2 stealth bombers – as tensions with North Korea have increased.
The U.S. military has some 7,000 servicemembers on Guam and controls about one-third of the island. In addition to Andersen Air Force Base, the Navy houses nuclear-powered fast attack submarines at Naval Base Guam on the small U.S. territory island.
Private First Class Bradley G. Hale, 20, of Montgomery, Texas, passed away at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on March 27, 2018.
Bradley was born April 23, 1997 in Houston, Texas to parents Rodney and Charla Hale. He attended Montgomery schools and graduated from Montgomery High School in June of 2015. Bradley was a member of the honor roll, marching band as well as the symphonic band playing the bass clarinet for four years. Bradley was a member of the Interact Club; a volunteer group that provided services for the residents of Montgomery County through food drives and displaying flags for the veterans in the community. In his spare time, Bradley enjoyed reading, listening to music, and playing games.
During high school, Bradley worked at Papa John’s Pizza in Montgomery, Texas for two years. After graduating high school, he worked at Hugh & Jeff’s Carwash and Grill in Dickinson, Texas prior to pursuing his dream of enlisting in the United States Military.
Bradley enlisted in the Air Force in March of 2016 and was a Barksdale Airman, from Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana. He was an electronic warfare journeyman assigned to the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Bradley was on temporary assignment at Andersen Air Force base in Guam. Bradley served his country with pride and was excited about his future as an Airman in the United States Air Force.
Bradley is survived by his parents Rodney and Amanda Hale of Montgomery, Texas; Charla Hale and Gary Martin of Dickinson, Texas; his brothers Petty Officer 3rd Class, Nicholas Hale, of the United States Navy and Shane Hale of Dickinson, Texas, and sister Erika Hale of Montgomery, Texas.
He also leaves his paternal grandparents, Ronny and Kathy Hale of League City, Texas, and Mark and Rhonda Andricks of Caldwell, Texas, Bill & Bobbie Mercer of Atlas, Oklahoma, Billy and Clara Bland of Rockdale, Texas and a Great-Grandfather, Lester Bourgeois of Caldwell, Texas; as well as his maternal grandparents, Eugene Hamann of Clear Lake, South Dakota, Lorna Hagen of Aurora, Colorado, and Wanda Martin of League City, Texas and a Great-Grandfather, Alvin Hamann of Clear Lake, South Dakota.
In addition, Bradley leaves behind numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and fellow Airmen.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home, 20850 Eva Street in Montgomery, Texas. Visitation will be held Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 9:00 am and immediately followed by the funeral service at 10:00am.
As a member of the armed forces, Bradley will be laid to rest at
Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive in Houston, Texas following the service at 1:45pm. You may leave written a written memorial to his family at www.shmfh.com
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