OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — A 22-year-old electrical systems airman who was killed here last week in an electrical incident was on his second tour at this air base he served at as a rookie airman.
The incident occurred sometime before 8:30 a.m. Thursday, as Senior Airman Jeffery T. Alfieri, 22, of Coral Springs, Fla., was working on an electrical transformer to try to restore power to part of the base, 51st Fighter Wing public affairs officials said.
The injured airman, with the 51st Engineer Squadron, died at the base hospital at about 10:15 a.m.
The 51st Fighter Wing said an investigation into the incident was under way to pin down just how it occurred. A wing spokeswoman Monday referred questions about the occurrence to Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii.
Alfieri entered the Air Force in August 2000. After completing his initial Air Force training, he reported for duty here with the 554th Red Horse Squadron. Later, he served at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., with the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron. Returning here in November, he was assigned to the 51st Civil Engineer Squadron, officials said.
The base held a memorial service Monday morning in the Osan American High School auditorium. The service drew some 400 people, said 1st Lt. Nora Eyle, a 51st Fighter Wing spokeswoman.
Capt. Larry Fowler, a wing chaplain, delivered a memorial sermon; Alfieri’s commander, Lt. Col. Gerard Castelli, eulogized the airman.
Eyle said Fowler told mourners that “we’ve got to support each other and help each other get through it.”
A capsule biography of Alfieri printed in the bulletin for the service credited him with “a deep camaraderie with fellow service members. He enjoyed his friends both on and off the job. His passing leaves us with deep sorrow in our hearts yet joy in the memory of his life and service that blessed us all.”
Alfieri’s death “makes us take time and take a step back to appreciate what we have and the team we’re a part of,” Castelli said.
