Anniston Army Depot officials identify worker killed Tuesday
By Zach Tyler, Star Staff Writer, ztyler@annistonstar.com
Anniston Army Depot officials on Wednesday released the name of the Goodwater man killed in an accident Tuesday in the Nichols Industrial Complex.
Willie L. Moon, 64, died that afternoon after receiving an “on-the-job injury,” according to information from the depot’s Public Affairs Office. Moon was a production machinery mechanic who’d worked 13 years at the depot, where Army leadership as well as civilian employees and the union that supports them are grieved by his loss, sources said Wednesday.
"The depot is a close knit family and the loss of one of our own affects us all," depot commander Col. Martine Kidd was quoted as saying in a release sent by the office. "We wish to express our deepest sympathy to Mr. Moon's family members. He will be sorely missed."
The release sent Wednesday morning did not specify how Moon received the injury that killed him. Depot spokeswoman Clester Burdell in an afternoon phone call said that’s because officials don’t know.
“That’s why we’ve got several teams here,” Burdell said. “We don’t want to speculate as to what happened.”
Burdell was referring to teams from the Army Safety Center’s Criminal Investigation Command and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Investigators from both agencies were on scene at the depot today, she said, and seek to determine the cause of the incident.
“They’re going to do a very thorough, efficient investigation into what may have caused this. When that investigation is complete, the details will be provided,” said Burdell.
The chief of public affairs for the Criminal Investigation Command in an email Wednesday afternoon confirmed agents were conducting an investigation into Moon’s death.
“We do not suspect foul play at this point,” Christopher Grey wrote, adding that agents “have not completely ruled it out” while conducting the inquiry.
Kidd, meanwhile, was to address Moon’s death with the depot’s workforce Wednesday afternoon, Burdell said.
The vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1945 post said many of those employees are “totally disturbed” by the man’s passing.
“We lost the life of a union member,” Charles Barclay said by phone Wednesday afternoon. He described Moon as “a great employee ... an old-school type of worker” who planned to retire in the next few months.
Barclay said he’s now “trying to encourage employees to continue to work to support the warfighter, and to keep safety first,” as he said all employees are trained to do every day.
“This was just an accident that occurred,” he said, one “very outside the normal.”