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Thursday, October 26, 2000

Sailor Gauna remembered as an American hero
Military officials and civilians gather in Ennis to honor 21-year-old killed in attack on USS Cole
By Matt Curry
Associated Press
ENNIS - Timothy Gauna, one of three Texans killed in the attack on the USS Cole, was remembered Wednesday as a hero who was proud to be an American.
   The Rev. Edwin Lipsey, one of several speakers at a funeral service attended by a standing-room only crowd, said Gauna reminded him of a patriotic song by Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A."
   "Tim was definitely a man that was proud to be an American. He enjoyed the freedom he had from this great country of ours," he said. "He loved that freedom so much, he was willing to give his life for that freedom."
   Lipsey said Gauna's death made "the price tag for freedom more precious to Ennis, Texas, than it had ever been before."
   Officials say two suicide bombers maneuvered a small boat loaded with explosives next to the Cole and detonated it on Oct. 12, killing 17 U.S. sailors, including Gauna and two other Texans.
   Gauna's funeral was the first of the three in Texas. Services will be conducted later this week for Ronchester Santiago, 22, of Kingsville, and Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., 26, of Rockport.
   Gauna, a 21-year-old information systems technician, was a 1997 graduate of Ennis High School, where he was a quiet student who excelled in baseball and art.
   He joined the Navy in 1999 as a radio man, hoping to make a better life for himself, his family said.
   Hundreds filed into the Church of God in the hour before Gauna's service, including dozens of uniformed military personnel and several survivors of the Cole attack.
   In the foyer stood a bulletin-board sized montage of photos covering Gauna's life. Photos showed him as a toddler, with family and friends, in a baseball uniform and other poses. An American flag draped his closed casket near the pulpit.
   At times, emotion overcame the slain seaman's mother, Sarah Gauna, who cried out "Please don't take him from me" and "I love you, Tim."
   Navy Admiral John Costas presented her with the Navy Achievement Medal and the Purple Heart.
   "Tim Gauna is one of the heroes in our society today, the best America has to offer, a true natural treasure," Costas said. "He took the toughest assignments at sea and sailed in troubled waters where only the best are sent."
   Among the 39 injured in the Cole attack were 19-year-old Kesha Stidham of Austin 21-year-old Eric Baker of Arlington. They returned home last week.

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