Injured Cole survivor never got over trauma

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Former Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class (SW) Johann Gokool was found dead in his Homestead, Fla., home on Dec. 23. Gokool was aboard the Cole when suicide bombers rammed a small boat packed with explosives into the ship on Oct. 12, 2000, in Yemen. Gokool lost his left foot in the bombing and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.


Injured Cole survivor never got over trauma
By Brian Skoloff - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 29, 2009 16:16:03 EST

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Former Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class (SW) Johann Gokool lost his left foot when a bomb ripped a hole in the side of the destroyer Cole nearly a decade ago, but the injury was nothing compared with the mental torment that ravaged him almost daily.

He returned home to Florida suffering severe post-traumatic stress disorder and frequent panic attacks so violent he would launch into seizures and even fractured his own wrist several times as he flailed, sister Natala Gokool said Tuesday.

One of the brothers he lived with found him dead in their home last Wednesday, just a week after his 31st birthday, Natala Gokool said. His cause of death was unknown, though she said foul play was not suspected. The family believes the seizures just became too much for his body to handle.

Gokool was aboard the Cole when suicide bombers rammed a small boat packed with explosives into it on Oct. 12, 2000, during a refueling stop in Aden, Yemen. It triggered a string of deadly fires. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and 39 others injured.

His sister said he soon began having panic attacks.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_navy_usscoledeath_122909/