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USS Stark

Thursday, May 15 2008 by | Send to a friend

USS Stark

Tim Gable

Today's story features an event that traces the long history of mistrust between the US and Iraq.

Tim Gable was an Operations Specialist aboard the USS Stark in May 1987. The ship was struck by two Iraqi missiles while he was asleep. He, along with 28 other crew members, were trapped in the berthing spaces where the missiles hit. They faced electric shocks from severed live wires, quickly rising water, fire, and smoke. Tim escaped by jumping into the Gulf, where he swam for nearly twelve hours so that two of his shipmates could use the life rings that had been thrown overboard.

Tim talks with Dick Gordon about how this experience changed his life and the lives of his crew members forever.

• See a photo of Tim in front of the hole where the missile entered the USS Stark
• Read about the incident and see more photos of the USS Stark
• Find out more about the memorial service that will be held this weekend
  

Tough Job - From Sales to Souls

Vito Martinez

We have been doing a mini-series on "odd job combinations." It all started with a woman who wrote in to say that she is a substitute teacher by day and a stripper on the weekends. After that interview aired, we've received several stories from people who think that their job combinations are also odd.

Vito Martinez plans to leave his job as a car salesman in Michigan this summer - but not because no one wants to buy American gas guzzlers. Vito is trading in his affluent lifestyle for poverty, and celibacy, as he enters the Franciscan priesthood.

It hasn't been an easy transition: he had to tell his live-in girlfriend about his plans and give up all his possessions. But Vito thinks that his career as a car salesman will actually prepare him well for his life as a priest.