Family Remembers Deceased Osan Airman
Condolences to the family of this deceased airman:
A wooden frame encapsulated Kevin Bittinger’s military life — an American flag folded in a triangle, medals, and Air Force pins held his accomplishments, showcasing his dedication to serving his country.
The boxy frame was shown to his mother, Cindy Bittinger, on Monday. She nodded in approval and attempted to hold back tears for her son.
Kevin Bittinger, formerly of Wapakoneta, died at Osan Air Base while serving in South Korea as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Though the circumstances surrounding his death remained under investigation, his family was trying to come to terms with their loss. He was 24 years old.
Bittinger’s remains were brought back to Wapakoneta on Monday from South Korea. Family, friends and strangers gathered and participated in a processional, led by the Ohio Patriot Guard.
“It was awesome to see so many people honor Kevin. But it’s heartbreaking, too. You know, I think every one of these guys deserve that and it’s just … Kevin would have thought that was so neat. It’s awesome to see the support of our county,” Cindy Bittinger said.
Tori Wynn, a friend and a tech sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, also escorted Kevin Bittinger’s remains home to Wapakoneta from South Korea. Wynn is stationed in Japan.
Wynn said of the support shown, “It was amazing.”
At the time of his death a senior airman, Kevin Bittinger joined the Air Force right after he graduated Wapakoneta High School in 2009. He had been on active duty for nearly six years.
After his death, the U.S. Air Force issued a news release about the incident.
Kevin “Bittinger, a Pavements and Construction Equipment Journeyman, was assigned to the 51st Civil Engineer Squadron and arrived at Osan in May 2014,” according to the statement.
“The loss of Kevin is a devastating blow to the team,” said Lt. Col. Jack Wheeldon, 51st CES commander in the statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. From RED HORSE to Prime BEEF, Kevin has done so much for the Air Force and he will be truly missed.”
The U.S. Air Force declined further comment. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
Word on the street is suicide.
Since there was no sudden crackdown on alcohol, we can rule out “extreme drinking”.
Which introduces the question…
If there was a cluster of suicides by hanging with a reflective belt, what would USFK management do?
Quite a conundrum, that one.
I guess they didn’t have enough suicide awareness training. Time to double up on that!
But you cannot have a big suicide awareness blowout right after a suicide because that brings attention to the fact you had a suicide.
You have to let news of the suicide quietly slip by with no real resolution and then, out of the blue, make a suicide prevention awareness week for suicides that are vaguely happenening somewhere else.
Further, they get extra quiet and misdirecting when the “suicide” is an autoerotic misadventure. Nobody knows nuthin’ after one of those.
This case could fit that profile… but that would be only speculation at this time.
Wonder how many cases of death by hangsterbating have occurred USFK wide.
On a serious note, it really does suck to see someone lose their life so young.
Hope his family can get some answers, and I hope those answers bring closure instead of more pain. Sometimes USFK closes the case when there are still plenty of questions remaining.
Admittedly dated but in 1989 autoerotic suicides were the #1 cause of death in the USAF. A statistic you won’t find published. Not saying that’s what happened here but I would second CH’s profile statement.
Recall Ving B. Her… hit by a taxi while nude on a back road in Korea.
He was well liked… so those who knew the unpleasant truth about how that came about never would say.
Those who poked around into the situation got shut down quickly by leadership.
The family didn’t ever get any answers… and any evidence they could independently look at was destroyed (e.g. autopsy).
This all remains a bigger mystery than bigfoot screwing a Yeti in the Bermuda Triangle.
#6
Just curious. I’ve heard of autoerotic asphyxiation that may sometimes result in accidental death, but what is autoerotic suicide? And, what is your source for that claim if it can’t be found published anywhere?
Likely that by autoerotic suicides, he meant autoerotic “suicides”.
As shameful as suicide is, it is better than, “died choking the wrong head”.
Robin Williams is a good example.
#8 a friend who was NCOIC of Casualty Affairs at AF Personnel Command (AFPC) at Randolph AFB during that period. His office kept official statistics of all AF casualties. The autoerotic suicides were generically listed as hangings, not further defined.
Now Playing on AFN
Airman 1: Man, since they shut down the juicy bars, I sure have saved money but I ‘m so hard I would fukk the crack of dawn. Say, what do you know about that autoerotic asphyxiation everyone is talking about?
Airman 2: I know you should stay away from it. Sure, a length of 550 cord might make you cum harder than an 80 pound teenage hooker in latex hip boots with two tongues, but the danger just isn’t worth it. Tell you what, if you get to feeling lonely and find yourself giving the eye to a cute ball of twine, why don’t you just come over to my room and we can talk about the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
If anyone is wondering what Chickenhead is talking about in the SPC Vang Herr case here is a link that will take you down memory lane of this very odd case that was never resolved:
https://www.rokdrop.net/2007/05/naked-usfk-soldier-killed-by-taxi-cab/
How would you feel if this was your brother, son, nephew, uncle or even your friend and you were reading these posts? I am sadden that people would even talk about a death of a person like this. No matter how he died at the end of the day MY FAMILY is heart broken!!!!! So please have more class then this.
Suzie, I (we?) apologize for your hurt feelings.
I (we?) understand and sympathize with your loss.
Keep in mind many of the people here succeed in life because they cut through the BS and, at the least, do not lie to themselves. While discussions such as this are difficult to have face-to-face, the anonymity of the internet allows honest internal conversations to become honest public conversations.
This is necessary in the world… and honest discussions here have done more good than bad.
Please recognize, nobody here knew Kevin. This is nothing personal. This is more of a discussion about aspects, observations, and speculations on the military and society. Kevin is simply a data point in this discussion.
There are certainly places you can go where those who actually knew Kevin have posted glowing tributes to his memory… and this is where you should focus your attention… instead of a place that honestly observes military trends and behaviors and makes (almost always correct) speculations based on available information and past experience.
You must focus on Kevin as a person while we focus on Kevin as a statistic… as open and honest discussions such as this, may in some small way, reduce future bad statistics.
Again, Suzie, I apologize for your hurt feelings. I hope you successfully overcome this difficult time.