Nanakuli woman victim of terror attack
| • | U.S. alert says attacks could be imminent |
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Just last week, Barbara Green had told her father, Roy McGuine of Salt Lake, not to worry about her being in Pakistan, where she lived and worked at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
The nation's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is a strong supporter of America's war against terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan but there has been considerable anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan from Islamic fundamentalist groups. Green, who is from Nanakuli, tried to ease her father's mind, telling him that more police than ever were stationed around the embassy.
Even though his daughter told him not to worry, Roy McGuine constantly feared for the safety of his daughter and granddaughter.
"I feel safe," she told him in an e-mail.
That was the last time McGuine heard from his daughter. Sunday, he learned that she and her 17-year-old daughter, Kristen Wormsley, were among five people killed and 45 wounded Sunday during an attack on a Protestant church not far from the embassy.
"She always reassured me," McGuine said. "I was more afraid than she was. If I had my way, they wouldn't have gone back there, they would have come here."
Secretary of State Colin Powell called McGuine on Sunday to express his condolences and offer support.
Green, the youngest of four children, was born and raised in Nanakuli and graduated from high school there in 1980. She joined the U.S. Air Force shortly afterward and later took a civilian job with the State Department in Washington, D.C.
It was there that she met and married Milton Green, who also worked for the State Department. Besides Kristen, Barbara Green's daughter from her first marriage, the couple had a son, Zachery, now 10.
Kristen Wormsley was getting ready to start college in Florida.
Barbara Green grew up in Nanakuli, and joined the Air Force after finishing high school.
For the past decade, the Greens had worked in embassies in Germany, the Ivory Coast and Beijing, McGuine said. They were sent to Pakistan two years ago.
Barbara Green and Kristen, along with many others, left Pakistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in a departure authorized by U.S. officials because of concern about pro-Taliban sentiment.
In late January, the embassy concluded the situation had improved and allowed the Americans to return, a State Department official said yesterday.
Green and her daughter had only recently returned to Pakistan.
The couple and their children were at the Protestant International Church when the attack occurred in the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave about a half-mile from the U.S. Embassy. Somehow, one or two suspected Islamic militants got through security and threw hand grenades into the crowd of worshippers.
Mother and daughter sat on one side of the center aisle during the service, father and son on the other, McGuine said.
Milton Green, 46, the director of the computer section at the embassy, had surgery to remove shrapnel from his stomach and leg. Zachery was not seriously injured.
The Green family last visited Hawai'i in 2000, spending 10 days at the Hale Koa Hotel and visiting family and friends.
Barbara "was the most pleasant person," McGuine said. "Got along with most everybody. Kristen was a normal teenager, growing up and planning to go to college."
Just last week Kristen was accepted to Florida State University, where she could be close to the Green family, McGuine said.
Yesterday, the State Department warned that Americans are in growing danger as terrorists search for vulnerable targets. It warned those overseas to be wary of — or even avoid — any place where Americans typically congregate, including churches, restaurants and schools.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
