USS COLE – A tribute to her crew and the 17 who were lost 10 years ago.

From gCaptain

You can’t miss them. The 17 gold stars running across the deck in front of COLE’s mess line. They stand for our 17 brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Hall of Heroes, a shipboard memorial to the Sailors lost on the 12th of October 2000, prominently features a plaque with the names of the shipmates we lost that day. The Chief’s Mess is named Costelow’s Cove in honor of Chief Electronics Technician Costelow, who fell in the terrorist attack.

The physical reminders that COLE has a special place in the Navy’s history, and our nation’s Global War on Terror, came as no surprise when I checked aboard. Our organization prides itself on canonizing the heroic Sailors and heroic efforts that make up our proud Naval Tradition, and in recognizing them with the honors they earned.

The intangible legacy of COLE’s 17 who died and the nearly 270 who survived to save this ship took me a little longer to notice, but is every bit as much an indelible part of these frames and bulkheads.

It is the spirit and the solidarity of several hundred Sailors who have served here in the last ten years, and in the day-to-day efforts of the 240 men and women of the present crew.

It is in the tireless and unending effort of every technician, operator, engineer, and supporting crew member to ensure COLE remains not a museum dedicated to a tragedy, but first and foremost a highly capable and successful war-fighting Destroyer. It is a Logistics Specialist, a Fire Controlman, and a Deck Seaman in a man-lift at 1930, working hard and without complaint to preserve the side of the ship because they care.

Read more...

 

By Lt.j.g. Jacob Beckelhymer, Navigator, USS Cole

Posted via email from