thedrifter
07-09-05, 06:50 AM
Jul 8, 2005
Local Marine wounded in Iraq bombing
By CLIFF HIGHTOWER
chightower@hernandotoday.com
BROOKSVILLE - Three-year-old Alexis Sweatt spoke to her mother Friday morning.
"I told her I would send an angel," Alexis said.
Her mother, Pasco County Deputy Christina Cooley, left Thursday for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to be at the bedside of her husband.
Josh Cooley was gravely wounded this week after being hit in the head from shrapnel.
On Friday, family members said he was wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq when a car with a remote-controlled bomb blew up beside the all-terrain vehicle he was in.
"He's still in a coma," his father, Ed Cooley, said Friday. "But he's doing better than he was."
Ed Cooley said he is praying that his son, a Pasco County Deputy Sheriff on leave to serve with the Marines, will recover from his wounds. After Cooley was wounded, the 28-year-old was taken to Germany where he was operated on to releive swelling to the brain.
"I just want my son to come home," said Ed Cooley, who is living in Land O' Lakes while in the process of moving to Brooksville. "If he can make it back, he'll be well taken care of."
Josh Cooley is a third-generation Marine, who took a leave of absence from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and joined the Marines as a rifleman in July 2003. He is a member of the Pasco County Sheriff's SWAT team, serving as a sniper.
Ed Cooley said his son was expected to be flown back stateside as early as Sunday or possibly Tuesday.
George and Claudia Demas, Cooley's father and mother-in-law, who both live in Brookridge in Brooksville, said they are taking care of Josh Cooley's stepdaughter Alexis until Christina Cooley arrives back home. The Demas are Christina's parents.
The Demas family learned more details of how Josh Cooley was wounded when they spoke to their daughter Friday morning. A gunnery sergeant told Christina Cooley that Josh and members of his platoon were on patrol in an area of Iraq where car bombings are frequent.
"All of a sudden, out of nowhere this car with a remote-controlled bomb hit the side of their Amtrack," said Claudia Cooley, referring to an all-terrain vehicle the U.S. Marine Corps commonly uses for troop transportation.
The car exploded and three other members of Cooley's squad were wounded in the attack.
"Shrapnel just flew everywhere," Claudia Demas said.
Members of the squad crawled out of the wreckage, conducted a head count and found Josh Cooley was missing.
Marines ran back in the wreckage and found him wounded.
Outside the Amtrack, other members of the squad spotted the insurgent who detonated the bomb and fatally shot him, Claudia Demas said.
The family said Cooley was hit by shrapnel in the right side of the face above the eye.
"They said they won't know until after surgery if he will lose his sight or not," said Claudia Demas.
Christina Cooley, who works at the West Pasco Judicial Center, is now on leave from the sheriff's office to be with her husband.
"In light of what happened, I think (Pasco County Sheriff Bob White) will do whatever is necessary for her," said Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
The family said Pasco County deputies helped raise money for Christina Cooley and have the highest praise for what the Pasco Sheriff's Office has provided so far.
Ed Cooley said his son was a "good man" who would do anything to help his fellow man.
"They just don't come like him anymore," Ed Cooley said. "And I'm not saying that just because he's my son. We need people like him in this world."
Tampa Tribune Reporter Candace J. Samolinski contributed to this report. Reporter Cliff Hightower can be contacted at (352) 544-5287.
PASCO SHERIFF BOB WHITE COMMENTS ON COOLEY
"We have received word from Deputy Christina Cooley that the condition of her husband, Deputy Josh Cooley, appears to have improved considering the trauma he has gone through. Josh is currently in a medically-induced coma, which will allow him to heal faster.
Preliminary information, not confirmed by the Marine Corps, indicates that Josh was part of a detail traveling in an amphibious assault vehicle that came under attack. During the attack, a number of Marines were injured.
If Josh's condition improves, he may be flown back to the United States, perhaps as early as Sunday, to continue his medical care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
I ask that we all continue to pray for both Josh and Christina and to stay strong and hope for the best."
Ellie
Local Marine wounded in Iraq bombing
By CLIFF HIGHTOWER
chightower@hernandotoday.com
BROOKSVILLE - Three-year-old Alexis Sweatt spoke to her mother Friday morning.
"I told her I would send an angel," Alexis said.
Her mother, Pasco County Deputy Christina Cooley, left Thursday for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to be at the bedside of her husband.
Josh Cooley was gravely wounded this week after being hit in the head from shrapnel.
On Friday, family members said he was wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq when a car with a remote-controlled bomb blew up beside the all-terrain vehicle he was in.
"He's still in a coma," his father, Ed Cooley, said Friday. "But he's doing better than he was."
Ed Cooley said he is praying that his son, a Pasco County Deputy Sheriff on leave to serve with the Marines, will recover from his wounds. After Cooley was wounded, the 28-year-old was taken to Germany where he was operated on to releive swelling to the brain.
"I just want my son to come home," said Ed Cooley, who is living in Land O' Lakes while in the process of moving to Brooksville. "If he can make it back, he'll be well taken care of."
Josh Cooley is a third-generation Marine, who took a leave of absence from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and joined the Marines as a rifleman in July 2003. He is a member of the Pasco County Sheriff's SWAT team, serving as a sniper.
Ed Cooley said his son was expected to be flown back stateside as early as Sunday or possibly Tuesday.
George and Claudia Demas, Cooley's father and mother-in-law, who both live in Brookridge in Brooksville, said they are taking care of Josh Cooley's stepdaughter Alexis until Christina Cooley arrives back home. The Demas are Christina's parents.
The Demas family learned more details of how Josh Cooley was wounded when they spoke to their daughter Friday morning. A gunnery sergeant told Christina Cooley that Josh and members of his platoon were on patrol in an area of Iraq where car bombings are frequent.
"All of a sudden, out of nowhere this car with a remote-controlled bomb hit the side of their Amtrack," said Claudia Cooley, referring to an all-terrain vehicle the U.S. Marine Corps commonly uses for troop transportation.
The car exploded and three other members of Cooley's squad were wounded in the attack.
"Shrapnel just flew everywhere," Claudia Demas said.
Members of the squad crawled out of the wreckage, conducted a head count and found Josh Cooley was missing.
Marines ran back in the wreckage and found him wounded.
Outside the Amtrack, other members of the squad spotted the insurgent who detonated the bomb and fatally shot him, Claudia Demas said.
The family said Cooley was hit by shrapnel in the right side of the face above the eye.
"They said they won't know until after surgery if he will lose his sight or not," said Claudia Demas.
Christina Cooley, who works at the West Pasco Judicial Center, is now on leave from the sheriff's office to be with her husband.
"In light of what happened, I think (Pasco County Sheriff Bob White) will do whatever is necessary for her," said Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
The family said Pasco County deputies helped raise money for Christina Cooley and have the highest praise for what the Pasco Sheriff's Office has provided so far.
Ed Cooley said his son was a "good man" who would do anything to help his fellow man.
"They just don't come like him anymore," Ed Cooley said. "And I'm not saying that just because he's my son. We need people like him in this world."
Tampa Tribune Reporter Candace J. Samolinski contributed to this report. Reporter Cliff Hightower can be contacted at (352) 544-5287.
PASCO SHERIFF BOB WHITE COMMENTS ON COOLEY
"We have received word from Deputy Christina Cooley that the condition of her husband, Deputy Josh Cooley, appears to have improved considering the trauma he has gone through. Josh is currently in a medically-induced coma, which will allow him to heal faster.
Preliminary information, not confirmed by the Marine Corps, indicates that Josh was part of a detail traveling in an amphibious assault vehicle that came under attack. During the attack, a number of Marines were injured.
If Josh's condition improves, he may be flown back to the United States, perhaps as early as Sunday, to continue his medical care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
I ask that we all continue to pray for both Josh and Christina and to stay strong and hope for the best."
Ellie