West Milton Rotary – July 30, 2012

Forrest Jackson, program host, invited Cliff Moser, the former Chief Medical Officer on the USS Cole, to the July 30 West Milton Rotary Club meeting. Cliff told the Rotarians about his morning on October 12, 2000, when the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer who was re-fueling in port of Aden, Yemen, was attacked by Muslim terrorists. A gaping 40 by 60 foot hole was left by a bomb attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured 39. Cliff was an independent duty core man, with specialized medical training, who was on board to help with specific medical needs since there were no doctors or nurses assigned on the ship. He described his duties and actions before and after the attack, which hit near the galley where he had been eating
an early lunch. He stated that he was spared his life by leaving the area minutes before the attack when he kept hearing a voice telling him “you don’t belong here, leave now.”

C. Moser, F. Jackson

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