October 12, 2000
Excerpts of Special briefing by
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
At 5:15 this morning, Washington time, a large explosion
blew a hole in the hull of the USS Cole
as she was mooring at Aden, Yemen, to refuel.
According to current reports, five sailors are dead,
36 are wounded, and 12 are still missing.
These numbers are likely to change as we learn more.
I want to take this opportunity
to express my deepest sorrow for the sailors,
who died defending our national interests,
and to extend my condolences to their families.
This is a sad day for America, for the Navy,
and for the families of the lost and the wounded sailors.
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Richard Costelow, of
Morrisville, Pa.
Cherone Louis Gunn, of Rex, Ga.
James Rodrick McDaniels, of Norfolk, Va.
Ronald Scott Owens, of Vero Beach, Fla.
Lakiba Nicole Palmer, of San Diego, Calif.
Kevin Shawn Rux, of Portland, N.D.
Timothy Lamont Saunders, Ringold, Va.
Andrew Triplett, of Macon, Miss.
Craig Bryan Wibberley, of Williamsport, Md.
Lakeina Monique Francis, of Woodleaf, N.C.
Gary Graham Swenchonis, Jr., of Rockport, Texas
Ronchester Mananga Santiago, of Kingsville, Texas
Patrick Howard Roy, of Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y.
Joshua Langdon Parlett, of Churchville, Md.
Marc Ian Nieto, of Fond Du Lac, Wis.
Timothy Lee Gauna, of Rice, Texas
Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, of Mechanicsville, Va.
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Letter From
Heaven
To my dearest Family,
Some things I'd like to say.
But first of all, to let you know,
that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from heaven.
Here I dwell with God above.
Here, there's no more tears of sadness;
Here is just eternal love.
Please do not be unhappy
just because I'm out of sight.
Remember that I am with you every
morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you
when my life on earth was through.
God picked me up and hugged me and He said,
"I welcome you."
It's good to have you back again,
you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family,
They'll be here later on.
God gave me a list of things,
he wished for me to do.
And first on the list,
was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night
and turn out the light
God and I are closest to you,
in the middle of the night.
Do not be afraid to cry,
it does relieve the pain.
I wish that I could tell you
all that God has planned.
If I were to tell you,
you wouldn't understand.
But even though my life on earth is o'er.
I'm closer to you now,
than I ever was before.
There are many rocky roads ahead of you,
and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it
by taking one day at a time.
When you're walking down the street
and you've got me on your mind;
I'm walking in your footsteps
only half a step behind.
And when it's time for you to go,
from that body to be free.
Remember you're not going,
you're coming here to me.
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