Cole (DDG 67) - Naval Cruise Book

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EW2 Ronald S. Owens October 31, 1975 - October 12, 2000 Ronald Scott Owens was born. on October 31, 1975. f'Scott'7, as he was known to family and friends, mar- ried his high school sweetheart, Jaime Scott, in November 1995. The following year, their daughter, Isabella, was born. Scott had dreams of obtaining an officer's commission upon returning from deployment in February. l-Ie wanted an education and thought that a commissioning program would be the best way to achieve that goal. Scott would have been 25 on Halloween if a terrorist bomb had not taken his life on October 12, 2000. Petty Officer Owens was posthu- mously awarded the rank of Electronics Warfare Tech- nician Second Class. EW2 Owens was also awarded the Purple Heart by the President of the United States Petty Officer Owens is survived by his wife, Jaime their daughter, Isabella Cage ill, and other family nfem- bers and friends.

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N2 CSWD Marc I. Nleto t 515 . .V .1 -3 July 25, 1976 - October 12, 2000 Marc Ian Nieto was bom on July 25, 1976 in Champaign, Illinois to Jesse Nieto and Marc was on board for two deployments with COLE and was one of the last Qgx Sharon Priepke. Marc attended parochial school until the eighth grade and he graduated from an altemative program run by Fond du Lac Goodnch High School where he was able to leam at an accelerated pace Marc graduated one year before those IH his senior class Marc was on the basketball team track team and even played football his freshman year of high school Marc had a com1c book collection He loved going to car shows and was always interested in how cars worked He even collected Matchbox cars and eighteen wheelers When he was younger Marc also raised and showed rabb1ts at the fair through the 4 H pro grams and usually won Best 11'1 Show Marc liked all different types of muslc and had qulte a CD collection to prove it Marc also loved watching NASCAR raclng on television Marc joined the Navy in December 1994 He attended Basic Tramlng and Engineman A School tn Great Lakes Ill1no1s He reported to USS COLE and was forever marked as a Plankowner Plankowners still stationed aboard. He was advanced to Engineman Second Class during the stx years he was in the Navy Petty Officer N1eto received numerous awards including Letters of Commenda t1on Letters of Apprec1at1on des1gnat1on as an Enlisted Sur face Warfare Speclahst K1998l JLm1or Determined Wamor of the Quarter from October to December 1998 Good Con duct Award C1999l and the Navy and Marine Corps Achlevement Medal f1999l Petty Officer Nieto was sup- posed to leave COLE one week after a terronst bomb claimed h1sl1fe on October 12 2000 as his enlistment in the Navy was coming to an end He was 24 EN2 KSWJ Nieto was posthu mously awarded the Purple Heart by the President of the United States Petty Officer Nieto IS survived by his parents Sharon and Jesse his siblmgs COI'1l'11Q Wlnnd and Jeffrey McKee his step mother Lynn and h1s f1al'lC99 Jalmie Deguz man 7 7 7 7 7 - u - - 77 7 . , ' ' 7 7 7 7 aa . . ,, . . . 7 1 - 7 7 . ca 77 - - 7 1 7 7 ' 7 ac 77

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SN Lakiba . Palmer I March 12, 1978 - . October 12, 2000 Lakiba Nicole Palmer was born on March 12, 1978. She attended San Diego High School in San Diego, California, and she graduated in 1996. During school, Lakiba participated on the track team where her best events were the 400 meter relay and sprints. Lakiba joined the Navy in 1997, something she had planned to do vvhile still at San Diego High. San Diego High School has a long military tradition, and the campus is home to monuments dedicated to former students killed in both World Wars. Lakiba longed for a military career because it promised stability and security. Lakiba received orders to USS COLE in June 2000. Seaman Recruit Palmer was fulfilling her Food Service Attendant QFSAJ duties when a terrorist bomb claimed her life on Octo- ber 12, 2000. She was 22. Seaman Recruit Palmer was posthu- mously awarded the rank of Seaman. SN Palmer was also awarded the Purple Heart by the President of the United States. Lakiba was an aggressive, articulate, and competitive young lady. She did not mind standing up for others and she was not afraid to speak about hovv she felt. Seaman Palmer is survived by her husband, Avinesh, their daugh- ter, Preshilla Cage 1l, her parents, and other family members and friends.