11/1/2007 - Dhahran, Saudi Arabia -

- Twenty-three-year-old Shelly Barton headed to her nightstand,

situated directly under the window in her apartment,

just like she had every night since moving

into the Khobar Towers housing complex at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

As an F-16 avionics technician, she'd deployed there with her unit -

- the 34th Fighter Squadron from Hill Air Force Base, Utah -

- on June 10, 1996. It was now June 25,

and the weary-eyed senior airman just wanted to get her nightclothes,

take a shower and go to bed.

A step away from her nightstand, the light in her room flickered,

stopping her in her tracks.

She couldn't explain it, but she could feel the pressure in her room change,

as if someone had taken a giant vacuum and was sucking all the air out.

Then the building swayed.

An earthquake? she wondered.

The light turned to almost a greenish haze, and suddenly,

the pressure changed again, like a balloon popping.

Less than a foot from her face, the window blew in with violent force.

Shattered glass, metal, dust and other debris flew

within inches of her face as she stood like a statue frozen in place.

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