Description

On October 12, 2000, eleven weeks prior to the 9/11 assaults, the USS Cole docked in the port of Aden in Yemen for a program pushing stop.  At 1118, on a warm, sunny day, the 8,400-ton destroyer was rocked by a massive explosion. The commander, Kirk Lippold, experienced the vessel violently forced up and to the best, as anything not bolted-down appeared to float in midair. Tiles tumbled in the roof, and the vessel was plunged into night, just starting to drain. In a matter of minutes Lippold understood the Cole have been assaulted.