Washington ( CNN ) -- Air Force Lt. Col. Ken Bourland hugged his wife , Peggy , goodbye and headed out for his two-day mission . The date was January 12 , and the destination was Haiti . Neither knew it would be the last time they 'd see one another . Upon his arrival in Port-au-Prince , Ken Bourland sent his wife an e-mail saying he had settled into his hotel room . Ten minutes later , Peggy Bourland and the couple 's three sons began watching television back in their suburban Fort Lauderdale , Florida , home . That 's when the news broke : Haiti had been struck by a major earthquake . She describes the panic that set in . `` I sent him another e-mail , you know , 'Please tell me you 're OK ' , '' she recounted to CNN . `` And , at that point , I did n't get anything back . '' The ensuing minutes and hours turned to days of waiting . `` It was painful not knowing , '' she said . `` But not knowing , you still had hope . You still had hope that he could possibly be under there just surviving , just doing everything he could to survive . '' Eventually , Peggy Bourland began to fear the worst . Lt. Col. Ken Bourland worked at the Caribbean desk at the U.S. Southern Command . His job involved helping the Haitian military with security issues concerning both countries , such as combating illicit drug trafficking , uncovering money laundering and distributing humanitarian aid . Bourland had been to Haiti previously , and this trip was to be a 48-hour mission escorting a new commander to meet his Haitian counterparts . His e-mail to his wife of five years was titled , `` Wow . Haiti . '' `` He actually had seen what true poverty was . And it was a life-changing experience for him , '' Peggy Bourland recalled . `` And he said that he wished that my son , Chance , and I could have been there to see it . I could tell from his e-mail he was moved , beyond words , at what he 'd seen , '' she said . Army Lt. Col. Chris Thomas worked with Ken Bourland at Southern Command . The two traveled to Haiti together and were in their respective rooms at the Hotel Montana when it came crashing down . `` We arrived Tuesday morning , met with the ambassador at the embassy , and got briefings , '' Thomas told CNN in an interview at Southern Command 's headquarters in Miami , Florida . `` Ken and myself then went back to the Hotel Montana , and that was the last time I saw him , '' Thomas said . Thomas stayed on the hotel 's top story , in a fifth-floor corner room . Ken Bourland 's room was on the second floor . Thomas recalled the horrible events of that afternoon . `` I was standing in the middle of the room , and the building just erupted , '' he said . `` The room just shook so violently , and the noise was deafening , '' he said . `` I rushed to the door , and the door and the wall fell on top of me . As the building pancaked , I guess I rode it down . '' Thomas suffered a broken arm , a separated shoulder and a torn ligament in his knee . But in the immediate aftermath of the quake , no word from Bourland . After two weeks , Peggy Bourland was emotionally exhausted from waiting and worrying . She took a military plane to Haiti to stand near where her husband was last seen alive . `` I just felt like , if that was going to be where he took his last breath , that I owed it to him and our kids to be there , to see it , to pray for him , '' she said . Once she got back home , she continued to wait for word about her husband 's fate . Eventually , `` they called , '' she said , tearfully recalling the moment when she got the definitive word that her husband had died in the earthquake-ravaged Hotel Montana . Immediately following the phone call , she worried , `` Oh my gosh , how am I gon na make it through this ? What am I gon na tell my boys ? You know , how am I going to explain this to them ? '' Bourland served in Iraq in 2004 . His safe return there holds a certain irony for his wife . `` To make it home from a real war zone , and be taken like that . It 's just ... it 's hard , '' she said . `` He was honest , confident , '' she said of her late husband . 'He was very dedicated . '' Peggy Bourland is unsure of `` where I go from here . It 's still just kind of , every day I get up , take a deep breath and ask , 'How are we gon na get through today ? What are we gon na do ' , '' she wonders . `` Never , never ever would I be prepared for this . '' `` It 's so vivid in my mind , him giving me a hug , kissing the boys , '' Peggy Bourland said . `` I still see him walking out the door Sunday on his trip . And you know , 'Bye ! See you when I get back . Love you ! Love you , too ! ' `` Asked about the necklace she wears , she said , `` This is Ken 's wedding band , one of the things they identified him with . I wear it around my neck , to keep him close to my heart , always . ''
Air Force Lt . Col . Ken Brown was among those killed in 2010 's Haiti earthquake . Bourland was inside the quake - ravaged Hotel Montana . Bourland 's wife went to Haiti to stand near where her husband was last seen alive . Peggy also says she 's ` ` unsure '' what the future holds .