A tribute to USS Cole (DDG-67)

GULF OF ADEN (Oct. 12, 2020) – The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the attack on the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) with Sailors manning the rails and a 21-gun salute from the Mark 45 5-inch gun while operating in the Gulf of Aden, Oct. 12. Winston S. Churchill is deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Louis Thompson Staats IV)

On October 12th, 2020 the Navy will observe the 20th Anniversary of the terrorist attack on USS Cole (DDG 67) in the Gulf Aden.

The USS Cole bombing was a suicide attack by the terrorist group al Qaeda against USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, on 12 October 2000, while she was being refueled in Yemen's Aden harbor.

Seventeen U.S. Navy sailors were killed and 37 injured in the deadliest attack against a United States naval vessel since the USS Stark incident in 1987.

Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack against the United States. A U.S. judge has held Sudan liable for the attack, while another has released over $13 million in Sudanese frozen assets to the relatives of those killed. The United States Navy has reconsidered its rules of engagement in response to this attack. On 13 February 2020, the government of Sudan agreed to compensate families of the sailors who died in the bombing.

Lest We Forget.