26 years ago today, the USS Cole pulled into Aden, Yemen for what was supposed to be a routine refueling stop.
It was a little after 11 in the morning on October 12, 2000. The destroyer was on her way to the Persian Gulf. A lot of her crew were lining up for lunch.
A small fiberglass boat came alongside the port side. Some sailors reportedly thought it was a harbor service boat. The two men aboard waved, or by some accounts stood up as if at attention.
Then they set off several hundred pounds of explosives packed into a shaped charge.
The blast tore a 40 by 60 foot hole in the Cole's hull, right near the galley where sailors were gathered. The ship began taking on water and listing. Power was out. Fires were burning. The wounded were being pulled from twisted steel.
Her crew refused to lose her. For days they fought flooding around the clock, bailing and patching by hand in brutal heat, keeping a 505 foot warship afloat after a blast that should have sunk her.
What most people don't know: this wasn't al-Qaeda's first try. In January 2000 they attempted the same attack on the USS The Sullivans in the same harbor. Their boat was so overloaded with explosives that it sank before it got there. They salvaged it, regrouped, and waited nine months for the next target.
The Cole was eventually loaded onto the deck of a Norwegian heavy-lift ship, the Blue Marlin, and carried home to Mississippi. She was rebuilt and returned to the fleet. The ship is named for Marine Sgt. Darrell Cole, who was killed on Iwo Jima.
Less than a year after the attack, the same organization struck the United States on 9/11.
17 sailors never came home from Aden. Today we remember them:
Kenneth Clodfelter
Richard Costelow
Lakeina Francis
Timothy Gauna
Cherone Gunn
James McDaniels
Marc Nieto
Ronald Owens
Lakiba Palmer
Joshua Parlett
Patrick Roy
Kevin Rux
Ronchester Santiago
Timothy Saunders
Gary Swenchonis Jr.
Andrew Triplett
Craig Wibberley
Fair winds and following seas.
🔥 Hey @GavinNewsom@GovPressOffice You took this photo out of context.
I have the full video of Trump snubbing you on the LAX tarmac when you showed up uninvited.
You HUGGED him, acted like his lap dog, walked him to Marine One hoping for an invite aboard & got SNUBBED!!!
You wanna know how dead woke truly is?
The biggest leftist LGBTQ activists on the internet are using gay as an insult now.
We really did officially win lol.
I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children. I love Xavier very much and hope he recovers.
My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump officially PARDONS Turkey Gobble ONLY like Trump can LMAO!
"Gobble, I just want to tell you, this is very important. You are unconditionally PARDONED!"
TURKEY: “GOBBLE”
"Who would want to harm this beautiful bird?" 🤣🤣🤣
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Today, the White House Press Secretary told the country that this ridiculous damn ballroom is “the president’s main priority”…not reopening the government, not lowering the cost of groceries, not lowering the cost of housing, not lowering the cost of healthcare….building a ballroom.