Washington Air National Guard commander Gent Welsh said they had put up the memorial frame for Colonel Hasnol Hisham Abu Hassan to honour the late officer and remind visitors about the importance of state partnership programmes.

Hasnol’s wife, five children, mother, brother and family friends paid a visit to Camp Murray, where he died, on Tuesday to see the memorial. Welsh was among the top Washington Air National Guard officers present.

“Over several hours, we were able to catch up with the family, see how well everyone is doing and provide some small measure of healing and closure.

“It was truly heartwarming to see Colonel Hasnol’s entire family and to let them know that we do care about our responsibilities to always remember Colonel Hasnol,” Welsh said in a Facebook post.

Hasnol died at the St Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Seattle, Washington, on Nov 16, 2021, after falling unconscious during the Airman to Airman Talks (A2ATs) programme at Camp Murray. He was 50 years old.

Hasnol was the training director at the RMAF headquarters’ human resources division and was buried with full military honours at the Covington Islamic Cemetery, Washington.

The Washington Air National Guard said Hasnol was buried in Washington as Islamic burial rites stipulated that it was preferable for the deceased to be buried within 24 hours of their death, while a flight back to Malaysia would take about 20 hours.

“We needed to act, and several members of the Washington Air National Guard team immediately stepped in to assist the RMAF team to handle all the necessary arrangements,” said Welsh, in an article posted on the National Guard’s website.