Grieving for the U.S.S. Cole
Religion Today, October 19, 2000
Marines and sailors joined families of the victims of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole to mourn their loss.
President Clinton and a number of military leaders memorialized the 17 men and women who died when a boat containing explosives rammed the side of the Cole as it prepared for refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden last week. Thirty-nine others were injured, eight of whom are still in the hospital, according to news reports.
“I ask you to thank God today for the lives, the courage, and the character of the crew of the U.S.S. Cole,” Clinton said at the Oct. 18 ceremony at the naval base in Norfolk, Va. About 1,500 people attended, including all but one of the survivors.
Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, chief of Navy chaplains, prayed for the relatives and friends of the victims. In closing, he read an Old Testament passage describing King David’s sorrow at the death of Jonathan, his friend and onetime comrade-in-arms. As David grieved for Jonathan, “so I grieve for you, my brothers and sisters of the U.S.S. Cole,” Black said.
The ceremony ended with the singing of the Navy Hymn, “Eternal Father Strong to Save,” and a bugler playing “Taps.”
Those who perished in the tragedy are: Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, 21, Richard Costelow, 35, Lakeina Monique Francis, 19, Tim Gauna, 21, Cherone Louis Gunn, 22, James Rodrick McDaniels, 19, Marc Nieto, 24, Ronald Scott Owens, 24, Lakiba Nicole Palmer, Joshua Parlett, 19, Patrick Howard Roy, 19, Kevin Shawn Rux, 31, Ronchester Santiago, 22, Timothy Lamont Saunders, 32, Gary Graham Swenchonis, 26, Andrew Triplett, and Craig Wibberley, 19.
Eleven of the victims are confirmed dead; six remain missing and authorities believe they are trapped in flooded areas of the hull, according to news reports. Five of the bodies have been returned to the United States for burial.
Naval chaplains and other support personnel are ministering to the families, Dick Abel of Campus Crusade for Christ’s Military Ministry in Newport News, Va., told Religion Today. “They are doing everything they can,” he said. “There is an old thing in the military that they take care of their own, and that’s pretty true.” Abel, a retired Air Force general, ministers to high-ranking naval officers at the Norfolk naval base.
People should pray for the shipmates of those who died on the Cole, an officer told Abel at a recent meeting. Families of victims rightfully receive help, but people seldom think of the grief that their fellow soldiers experience, Abel said. “They go through recruit training together and then [when one dies] they are really hurting because they have never lost anyone before.”
Christians should send their prayers to the families of the victims, evangelist Jerry Gaffney said. The former Marine and Vietnam veteran has a memorial page on his website with information about the sailors and a place to post prayers. The ministry will make sure the prayers are forwarded to the right people, Gaffney said.
“I just lay in the bed and read my Bible and pray,” said Roy Parlett, the Baltimore Sun reported. “We need lots of prayers.” Parlett’s son Joshua is among the missing who are presumed dead, according to news reports.