NORWOOD, NC —Β A Stanly County man wants a five-year quest to recognize the 45 men and women killed and wounded in the 2009 attack at Fort Hood to end.
Matthew Cooke nearly died that day saving another soldier. Now he’s talking about why that recognition is so important for the 45 victims.
“Closure mostly,” says Cooke. “It’s not just me, but for all the victims and their families.”
Just like that tragic day at Fort Hood in 2009, former Army sergeant Matthew Cooke is thinking of others.
“DOD, Congress, you know, they have to change the actions on a Purple Heart,” says Cooke.
Cooke is one of 32 survivors Β wounded in the attack by Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan. They and the families of the 13 victims who were killed are still waiting, waiting to be eligible to receive Purple Hearts and combat injury benefits.
“They were heroes there,” says Cooke’s stepfather Jerry Frappier. “This was a combat situation. And they need to be remembered for that.”
Cooke took several bullets while saving a fellow soldier. He’s on full military disability, but families of other victims say they’ve faced thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses that would have been covered if the same injuries had occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense has ruled the shootings as workplace violence, denying the victims benefits and military honors.
“It was combat,” says Cooke. “And it was also, you know, instinct.”
“Would you put yourself between that perfect stranger and the gun?” says Cooke’s mother Diane Frappier. “And Matt did. I’m so proud of my son. He did that. And he’s had no recognition for that.”
For more than five years now, Matthew Cooke and his family have been watching, getting their hopes up only to be disappointed by those who’ve promised more.
“The president had his arm around me and said, ‘I will take care of your son’,” says Diane. “He promised me that.”
“The Purple Heart, the award, would be fine, but it’s the recognition behind it is what I’m looking for,” says Cooke.
The recognition for the Fort Hood victims is attached to a defense bill that is expected to be passed by the House this week, and considered by the Senate next week.
