A former commander of Tech. Sgt. Matthew Hullman volunteered to escort his remains this week from Grand Forks Air Force Base to Shenandoah, Iowa, where Hullman grew up.
"When I heard Sgt. Hullman had passed and it was such a tragedy, I volunteered to help in any way I could," Col. (Dr.) Paul Nelson said Thursday.
Hullman, 36, died July 21 in a shooting incident at the Grand Forks base that still is being investigated by the Air Force.
Before coming to Grand Forks in 2009, he served under Nelson in a medical unit at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
"It was very personal to me, it was someone I cared about," Nelson said about his mission to North Dakota. "I felt so strongly about his service and dedication, I wanted to make sure I came up to support our airmen in Grand Forks and to make sure Sgt. Hullman was able to come home to his family."
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Nelson is now chief flight surgeon with the 81st Medical Group at Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi, Miss.
Honored guard
Hullman's public health duty as part of a medical group, such as the one at the Grand Forks base, involved generally making sure airmen and their families lived and worked in safe environments, Nelson said.
The work meant he was with Hullman on a daily basis during their three years at Columbus, Nelson said. "He was a remarkable, energetic young man."
Nelson arrived in Grand Forks near midnight Monday and left with Hullman's remains about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday on a commercial flight, he said, changing planes in the Twin Cities for Omaha, Neb.
He then rode in the hearse that took Hullman's casket the last few miles to his family's Shenandoah home.
"It was very, very powerful," Nelson said. "At each point in the transport, the captain came on the intercom and told the passengers that, to honor a fallen American service member, asked if I could step off the airplane first. They would unload the flag-draped coffin with dignity and respect. In Omaha, an honor guard was there."
That was poignant, said Nelson, because Hullman was known at the Columbus base for serving on -- and training other airmen to serve on -- honor guards for fallen comrades.
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"He was the guy who gave up nights and weekends... training other young airmen," Nelson said.
On Wednesday in Shenandoah, Nelson met with Hullman's parents and other family members, including Hullman's younger brother who also is in the Air Force.
"It was very important to me to thank his mother and father for their son's service. They are a very patriotic family," Nelson said.
On Saturday, Nelson plans to attend the family's funeral service for Hullman.
Call Lee at (701) 780-1237; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1237; or send email to slee@gfherald.com .
