USS Cole (DDG-67)

USS Cole (DDG-67)

The second USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer homeported in Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. The Cole is named in honor of Marine Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, a machine-gunner killed in action on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, during World War II. Cole is one of 62 authorized Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, and one of 21 members of the Flight I-class that utilized the 5"/54 caliber gun mounts found on the earliest of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was delivered to the Navy on 11 March 1996.

On 12 October 2000, the Cole was the target of attack carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Yemeni port of Aden; 17 sailors were killed, 39 were injured, and the ship was heavily damaged. On 29 November 2003, Cole deployed for her first overseas deployment after the bombing and subsequently returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia on 27 May 2004 without incident.