NY native wounded at Fort Hood

SIDNEY, N.Y. -- The father of a soldier wounded in the rampage at Fort Hood says his son was shot while he knelt trying to help a wounded comrade.

Carl Cooke of Sidney in southern New York says his son, 30-year-old Matthew Cooke, had emergency surgery Thursday to repair wounds in his abdomen and back. He told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin his son was awake and alert in his Texas hospital bed Friday.

Matthew Cooke has been deployed once to Iraq. He's with the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Brigade at Fort Hood. His father says he has a 1-year-old, Gabriel, with his wife Sara and a 4-year-old, Zachary, from a previous marriage.

He graduated in 1998 from Afton High School, where he was voted most shy in his class.

Get more Local News »

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•