Front Burner (29 page)

Not that we had a choice. I tried to be as upbeat as possible, “No problem, sir. We can wait 'til dinner. The crew's hungry but we'll get the word out and just deal with it. Thank you for your help, sir.”

“I'll be coming out to the ship with Admiral Fitzgerald. He just wants to get out to the ship and see how you and the crew are doing.”

“Sounds good, sir. We'll be standing by for your arrival.”

He again expressed his own frustration with how the support logistics were unraveling but was just as adamant that everything would be solved, and in short order. Like me, when I shared this news with Chris, he expressed the same resigned frustration. Given everything else we had been through, more pressing issues overshadowed this inconvenience. It was an unusually hot day, but it was also the day that we expected the last of our crew to be recovered from inside the ship by the FBI team.

Admiral Fitzgerald had visited almost every day since Sunday. Since he was responsible as the Determined Response commander for our overall safety and welfare, as well as the coordination of all the U.S. government elements that had flown into Yemen in response to the attack, it was important for him to keep tabs on how we were doing. John had already briefed him back at the Aden Mövenpick Hotel on the psychiatric team's assessment of the crew's mental state, but there was nothing like actually spending more time with the sailors to get a true sense of their feelings and morale.

This time the admiral would be bringing some high-ranking dignitaries: FBI Director Louis Freeh and Ambassador Bodine, as well as Captain Hanna and about twenty other people. Around 1300, the launch from
Tarawa
pulled up to the back of the refueling pier as the ambassador and Director Freeh, followed by a gaggle of officers and civilians lead by Admiral Fitzgerald, clambered out of the boat and headed toward the brow. Still without fanfare, they were welcomed aboard with only a perfunctory greeting and introductions to the leadership of the ship before we started out on the standard tour route.

As we walked by the amidships area and up to the forecastle, Director Freeh greeted the divers still working down in the destroyed engine room, as well as the FBI and NCIS agents involved with remains recovery and evidence collection—in fact, a forensic analysis of a recovered sailor was in progress. Director Freeh and I slipped behind the draped off area for a few minutes to speak with Don Sachtleben and the other agents and get a quick briefing on their work. Once we were back out from behind the curtained area, everyone walked up to the forecastle where the director specifically commented on how many sailors were busy helping out the FBI/NCIS evidence collection groups.

Clearly, Director Freeh was pleased that the crew was so well integrated with the FBI's work and apparently happy to be contributing to their efforts. Like everyone else at first exposure to the site of the explosion, he was taken aback by the utter devastation. As we paused at each major area, the specific acts of heroism and hard work that had followed the attack were explained in detail. In the mess decks, the cuts in the forward bulkhead behind the drink line were stark reminders of how hard we were working to locate and retrieve the remaining dead sailors.

After about an hour walking around, I asked Director Freeh if he would be willing to address the assembled crew. It would mean a lot to them to hear from the director himself that the FBI was going to find the terrorists responsible for the attack and hold them accountable. He understood the importance of the moment and within minutes, the crew was assembled on the flight deck with a temporary sound system set up with a microphone. His speech was short and to the point. He thanked the crew for their valiant effort to save the ship and their continuing work with his agents and those from NCIS. He emphasized that they would find those responsible for this heinous act and bring them to justice.

Until that moment, we had not heard that assurance from any American official, yet it was probably the thing most important for us to hear. An American ship of war had been attacked in an act of war, and we needed to know that the blow would not go unanswered.

After the director and the ambassador returned to the task force headquarters in the Aden Mövenpick Hotel, Admiral Fitzgerald remained
aboard for another hour or so to walk around by himself and chat with the crew. Perfect. Petty Officer Crowe was designated as his escort and Chris and I turned our attention back to the routine of managing and running the ship.

 

The crew of USS
Cole
in formation and manning the rail for a group photo the day before deployment to the Middle East and our rendezvous with destiny.
Photo courtesy of PHCM Charles Pedrick, USN (Ret).

 

USS
Cole
crossing the Atlantic en route to Mediterranean port visits at the beginning of deployment.

 

USS
Cole
two days after being attacked. A ship's life raft blown out of its fiberglass container is hung up on an antenna above the bridge.

 

USS
Cole
moored at the refueling pier in Aden several days after the attack. Mooring buoys are visible just off the bow and stern of the ship.

 

For several days after the attack the crew had to sleep outside under the stars since there was no power to berthing compartments in the forward part of the ship.

 

The view standing along the mess line near what was the galley entrance. Sunlight is shining through the hole in the side of the ship and everything within twenty feet of it is blown inside.

 

Damaged watertight door, left, to main engine room 1 making entrance impossible. The destroyed general workshop is in the background.

 

Command Master Chief's office with the picture of his daughter on the wall. Debris and food trays were tossed into the space during rescue efforts in the galley.

 

Starboard propeller shaft as it enters main engine room 2. Wooden wedges and oakum slowed the floodwaters coming in around the shattered shaft seal.