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Ship's 39 wounded stop in Germany on way home©New York Times © St. Petersburg Times, published October 15, 2000 LANDSTUHL, Germany -- Some were lining up to eat on Thursday when a small boat loaded with explosives blew a 40-foot hole in the side of their warship. Others were asleep and were jolted out of their bunks. On Saturday morning, 39 wounded shipmates from the destroyer COLE arrived at the U.S. Army Regional Medical Center here from Yemen. The Navy had earlier said 33 sailors were wounded, but six additional sailors required treatment for post-traumatic stress. About half were carried into the hospital on stretchers. Some were attached to intravenous tubes supplying fluids and medication. Others had bandaged eyes and heads. Many limped under their own power, tugging blankets around them to fend off the fog's wet chill. "They were definitely in shock," said Navy Lt. James Glaspie, one of 11 military chaplains at the medical center to counsel the survivors. Several sailors broke into tears when they called their families back home after arriving at the hospital, chaplains said. Many just wanted to sleep. One young sailor with severe leg injuries told chaplains he fought to survive, clambering up a ladder as water poured into the ship. His wife was pregnant and "he wanted to see the baby," Glaspie said. He said a young woman officer -- the sole officer among the injured -- was tormented by having to leave those under her command behind. "She was more concerned about her people than about herself," Glaspie said. Seventeen sailors were killed by the attack on Thursday. Army doctors said that all but five of the wounded would be able to fly home as early as today. They will be sent to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va., the COLE's home port. "Most of the injuries appear to be of a minor nature," said Col. Elder Granger, commander of the medical center. The most common injuries were broken bones, and four of the wounded needed surgery Friday afternoon. Col. James Rundell, the deputy commander in charge of clinical services here, said most suffered cuts and bruises. A few had concussions. But doctors here said all were in stable condition and did not need to be placed in intensive care. Capt. Thomas Burkhard, fleet surgeon for the commander in chief of U.S. naval forces in Europe, said many of the wounded were in much better condition than they appeared to be when they arrived. "The smiles were out, people were watching television," he said. "It was about one thousand percent better than what you saw coming out of the plane." By the time they arrived here most were visibly exhausted from travel delays. Eleven of the most badly wounded had been flown from a French military hospital in Djibouti, in the Persian Gulf. Those were picked up by one of two Air Force C-9 Nightingale planes used for medical evacuations. But because of thick fog that blanketed Ramstein Air Base, a few miles from Landstuhl, the wounded had to wait for hours in Naples. They did not arrive at the hospital until 10 a.m. on Saturday, about 20 hours after leaving Djibouti. The less severely wounded had a shorter but possibly less comfortable trip. Because of the fog here, their plane was diverted to Rhine-Main Air Base outside Frankfurt, where they had to wait for more than two hours while special medical buses were sent from Landstuhl. The sailors then spent two more hours being driven through fog and drizzle down the German autobahn and up a winding road to the hilltop medical center here. - Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.
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