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Shaw honors fallen Airman

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  • By 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Team Shaw turned out in force to honor a fallen Airman from Dalzell, S.C. here Nov. 18.

Staff Sergeant Andrew Bubacz, a 23-year-old Airman assigned to the 97th Communications Squadron, Altus Air Force Base, Okla, died Nov. 12 while deployed as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Nuristan, Afghanistan.

Thousands of Team Shaw members - Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, civilians and even a Sailor -- lined the streets in honor of Sergeant Bubacz and saluted the hearse bearing his flag-covered coffin as it moved from Shaw's flightline across base and out the main gate.

His family has scheduled the funeral to take place Nov. 19, at the Bullock Funeral Home, 1190 Wilson Hall Rd. in Sumter, S.C., followed by burial at the Fort Jackson National Cemetery, 4170 Percival Rd. in Columbia, S.C.

The Airman served as a communications specialist on a PRT, and had been in Afghanistan for one month of his 270-day deployment at the time of his death. While stationed at Altus, he was a 97th Communications Squadron help desk technician, a 97th Air Mobility Wing command section client support administrator, and worked in the 97th CS official mail center.

Sergeant Bubacz enlisted in the Air Force Sept. 27, 2005 and attended Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, Texas. He then transitioned to the 336th Training Squadron at Keesler AFB, Miss., for technical school as a communications specialist, and moved to Altus in February 2006.

He had earned Community College of the Air Force degrees in both biology and information management, as well as an associate's degree in biology from Western Oklahoma State College. He also had earned the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Dalzell is a rural community located immediately northeast of Shaw.