THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606300063
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: 97 lines
As long as she lives, Maria Taylor never wants to see a man in a blue Air Force uniform come to her house again - unless it's her son.
On Wednesday, a chaplain and commander had marched up to her door to inform her that her son, Senior Airman Paul A. Blais, was ``unaccounted for, duty status unknown'' after a terrorist bombed the U.S. military apartment in Saudi Arabia where Blais was staying.
Taylor and the rest of Blais' family feared he was dead.
But Saturday, after days of agonizing, hoping and praying, Maria Taylor and Blais' stepfather, Curtis Taylor, received a call from the Air Force Casualty Center.
Blais, they learned, was ``100 percent alive.''
``When I first got the news I was, uh, you can't describe it,'' Curtis Taylor said in his Hampton home near Langley Air Force Base. ``It's a feeling of relief and happiness.''
``Let me tell you,'' Maria said, ``You have the best feeling of your whole life.''
Forensic teams had originally thought that the unidentified remains of one of 19 victims in the bombing belonged to Blais, a 26-year-old radio operator based in Florida who was on temporary duty in Saudi Arabia.
But investigators could not match the remains to Blais. Further investigation revealed that Christopher B. Lester, 19, of Pineville, W.Va., was the victim.
An unidentified patient in a military hospital was then identified as Blais, who is listed in very serious condition.
The Taylors first received word of Tuesday's explosion through a friend's phone call.
``A friend called and asked did we hear about the bombing,'' Curtis Taylor said. ``That's when I turned on the TV.''
Curtis said he didn't know for sure if the blast had hit the building where Blais was staying. The television report showed an 800-number to call and verify victims of the attack, so Curtis called.
``Finally I got the number to the Air Force Casualty Center, and that's when I got word that he was unaccounted for,'' he said.
The next day, the chaplain and commander came to the door.
``It was very horrible,'' said Maria Taylor, surrounded in a small living room by pictures of her son. ``My body was shaking different ways. My heart turned into pieces. I said, `My son is dead. They killed him. They killed him.' I couldn't stop my mouth.''
The family had spent the past few days on the phone, clinging to the hope that they would receive word that Blais was alive. Curtis said he kept calling the number to see if there were updates.
The night of the blast, Blais had been doing just what he told his mother he was going to do.
``I talked to him, and he told me he was a little bit tired and said he wants to take a bath and I want to go to bed,'' Maria Taylor said. ``I said, `I love you.' He said, `I love you.' I said `Bye.' He said, `Bye.' ''
That was the last she heard from him.
Officials told Blais' family Saturday that he was still in the hospital, in a coma.
``He was injured in the head, and his face was so swollen that they could not recognize him,'' Curtis Taylor said.
The Taylors' one-story house was filled with family members, reporters and photographers on Saturday. Maria Taylor excused herself briefly to speak with CBS News on the telephone.
Then she proudly played a tape of Blais from his days as a disc jockey and conducted a tour through her home.
Blais is a radio operator aboard C-130s assigned to the 71st Rescue Group at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The group is under the umbrella of the 1st Fighter Wing's 71st Fighter Squadron at Langley.
He lived in Hampton for two of his teen years before Curtis Taylor retired at Langley in November 1986 and his family moved to North Carolina. The family moved back to Hampton in October 1991, the same month Blais joined the Air Force.
The Taylors leave Monday to fly to Germany, courtesy of the military, so they can visit Blais after he is transferred to a hospital there.
The family has direct lines to the Pentagon, so they can immediately be updated when there is a change in his condition.
``I can still lose my son,'' Maria Taylor said. ``But I have faith in God. And he's a strong boy.''
Maria Taylor said she was sorry for the family of Lester, who turned out to be the victim.
``But I tell you, I'm sorry, I want my son back.'' MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
L. TODD SPENCER
Maria Taylor of Hampton speaks with CBS News after being told her
son, Paul A. Blais, was mididentified as the unknown fatality in the
Saudi Arabian bombing.
KEYWORDS: SAUDI ARABIA TERRORISM EXPLOSIVES
FATALITIES INJURIES U.S. AIR FORCE by CNB