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Johann Gokool passed away on December 23, 2009, after suffering a panic attack at his home in Homestead, Florida. Gokool, the Trinidadian-born Petty Officer Third Class, an electronic warfare technician on the Cole, was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following his recovery from wounds he received in October 2000 when terrorists struck the destroyer at the port of Aden in Yemen. Gokool was a dear friend who had been wracked by panic attacks for years after the explosion. It behooves me to tell his story.
On Sunday, Oct.8,2000, four days before the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in the Mideast, Liah Gokool got the first hint that disaster was about to strike her son and his ship.
She was at Burdines in Cutler Ridge, preparing for a day’s work as manager of the young men’s department. Suddenly her left leg began to throb.
The pain got so intense, Liah had to go home. An eerie anxiety set in. There was a special bond between her and her sailor son Johann and she knew she had to help him.
That Thursday, Oct. 12, Johann Gokool, an electronic warfare technician on the Cole, was in the chow line, sniffing the spicy aroma of fajitas. He would never get a chance to load his tray. His ship was about to be blindsided by a small boat loaded with explosives.
Memorial Day will bring the Cole tragedy to the fore for the Gokools, a close-knit family of six brought…
