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20 Year Later: Former USS Cole Sailor Remembers Attack

Navy Public Affairs Support Element East - (Active)

Oct. 5, 2020 | 6:46

201005-N-MD802-1011 NORFOLK (Oct. 5, 2020) Senior Chief Damage Controlman William Merchen, a survivor of the attack on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67), remembers the events of the attack and how those events shaped his role as an inspector with the Afloat Training Group (ATG) Atlantic training the next generation of Sailors. Cole was attacked by terrorists at 11:18 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2000, while moored for refueling in the Port of Aden, Yemen. The explosive bomb created a 40-by-60 foot hole on the port side of the ship, and the Cole's Sailors fought fires and flooding for the following 96 hours to keep the ship afloat. Commemoration events are scheduled to remember and honor the 20th anniversary of the 17 Sailors who were lost, the 37 that were injured and the Gold Star families. Please visit the commemoration website to learn more at https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/remember67