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'I could tell from his voice that something was wrong'

Jul- 3-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

We'll keep Joe in our thoughts and prayers as he recovers.

By JUDY MASTERSON, Lake County News-Sun

WAUCONDA -- Robert and Melissa Cook had just begun to relax in the knowledge that their youngest son Joe, 22, was nearly done with an extended tour in Iraq -- 30 more days and he would be back on American soil after 15 long, dangerous months in the desert.

Then, last Wednesday, the young infantryman called.

"He said, 'Dad I've got some news,'" Robert Cook said. "I could tell from his voice that something was wrong. I said, 'How bad?' and he said 'Pretty bad. I lost part of my left leg and my foot.' And I said 'Can it be fixed? And he said 'No dad. It's gone.'"

Spec. 4 Cook served as a vehicle commander in the Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, out of Fort Lewis, Wash. He was riding the lead "Stryker" vehicle in a patrol of Baghdad when an "exceptionally large" IED exploded.

The senior Cook said his son was knocked unconscious and woke up in a recovery room. A surgeon traveling with the unit stabilized Joe, whose leg was crushed and who also suffered a broken nose, bumps and bruises. The unit suffered 14-total casualties. Joe was the most severe.

It wasn't the first time Joe's Stryker had taken a hit. The bomb that finally did injury, still couldn't kill the men it had been planted for.

"The Stryker is really well protected," said Cook, a former marine.

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