what really got to me was this...

[Guest guest]

I am sure we have all seen the technological marvel that brought the

cole back to the states....that boat that sinks and places the cole on

its deck, then rises again...it was indeed a wonder...

when the ship got to pasacagoula the personal affects of the sailors

were taken from their racks and boxed for transport to them. My

daughter lost all of her uniforms...the smell of the dead could not come

out...she did manage to salvage two porcelain dolls from spain that

survived the blast...

body parts were still being found behind things...

The entire ship had to be gutted...

Some of the sailors on board did not think very much about the sacrifice

that some of their brethen made...they took pictures and videos and sold

them to new organizations and were comprensated...although they did not

sell them under their name I am so...but somehow the pictures of the

inside of the ship and the carnage got out....it was very strange that

one guy shot a video and the next day he showed up at work in a new

sports car and he swore he did not sell the tape...go figure...I do not

believe it is right to make something from a shipmates death...that is

very horrendous in my eyes.

B. was asked for interviews by many, many news agencies. One of the

sailors that was with here did do an interview with the today show and

kept mentioning B.'s name...they wanted to know where B was...he said

she would not give an interview...

When the crew all got back together, the sailor who was pulled out of

the messhall by my daughter with a head injury was descending the plane

and he saw her and yelled to her....his five year old baby boy ran up to

her and gave her a big hug on her legs and told her :thank you for

saving my dad's life:. Of course a journalists over heard this and

wanted an interview and was very persistent. This was a National

newspaper a very prestigious one...he kept on and on and finally she

said what part of No don't you ............. not understand....(yep she

is a sailor and talks like one)...

I felt closure when I went to the memorial...when I saw the cole again.

My daughter went on board the day it came back into port after being

fixed....it was a cold and rainy and foggy day....you could not hardly

see the end of the pier....the blast sailors and their families were

separated from the current sailors....they did not want them

together...as the cole came thru a fog bank...the crying started...and

the screaming...of those that lost loved ones...my daughter said it was

so hard...so hard...she cried tons and tons...the blast sailors and

their families were allowed to go onto the Cole first...but but my

daughter did ot move...she waited until there was only ten minutes left

and then she slowly went up the gang plank....she walked the halls and

came to the messhall ...there she stopped and she saw those seventeen

stars on the floor for those that perished....she also stood right where

she was when it happened...it was then and only then that she realized

how close to death she had been...She did have an Angel with her that

day...

She will never step foot on the cole again...too many painful memories

are still etched into her mind...the carnage...the pain...the

blood...the misery and suffering ...She is on a new ship...

Our next goal is to go visit the Cole sailor's graves at Arlington

National Cemetary...when will that be...IDK...when she i ready...but we

will one day go...and pay our respects.

Always Remember the Cole

Some gave some

Some gave all...

Remember the USS Cole...

October 12, 2000

[Guest guest]

So many precious lives, dreams, and futures destroyed ..

it has happened all throughout history ..

and history just keeps repeating itself.

To memorialize the past so we don't forget is a good thing ..

as long as we dont let the past rob us of our future.

Please give your daughter my condolences ..

and tell her ..

" Grief is the proof we have loved and lived. "

The tears will come, it is a natural reaction to an unpleasant

situation. So just let them come. It is a good cleansing procedure,

both mentally and physically.

Tears are nothing to be ashamed of ..

just remember ..

" Tears wash the heart and cleanse it of grief ..

allowing all the love you possess to shine forth! "

hugs..