In Remembrance ... U.S.S. Cole

Today marks the five year anniversary of the bombing attack on the U.S.S. Cole at Aden, Yemen. 17 sailors were killed in the attack, and 39 others were wounded.

I remember the shock I felt when we first heard about the attack. It now seems small when compared to the tragic losses we experienced a year later, but at the time it was real and it was raw.

I remember thinking at the time that this would surely open the eyes of Americans to the hatred and determination of the freedom-hating terrorists trying to destroy our way of life. But as Michelle Malkin notes, that did not happen:

Too many of us were blind in 2000 — unable or unwilling or simply too uninterested to connect such blood-stained dots as al Qaeda's 1993 World Trade Center bombing attack, the 1996 Khobar Tower bombings, the 1998 African embassy bombings, and the attack on the Cole. After Sept. 11, 2001, all of our eyes should have been pried wide open to the evils of Muslim extremism that exist among us in both organized and freelance form.

The watchdogs in the national press, however, insist on clouding our vision.

The Navy has provided these names of the killed in the attack on the USS Cole:

• Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, Morrisville, Pennsylvania


• Signalman Seaman Recruit Cheron Luis Gunn, Rex, Georgia


• Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels, Norfolk, Virginia


• Seaman Recruit Lakiba Nicole Palmer, San Diego, California


• Operations Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Lamont Saunders, Ringgold, Virginia


• Ensign Andrew Triplett, Macon, Mississippi


• Seaman Apprentice Craig Bryan Wibberley, Williamsport, Maryland


• Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, Mechanicsville, Virginia


• Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, Woodleaf, North Carolina


• Information Systems Technician Seaman Timothy Lee Gauna, Rice, Texas


• Engineman 2nd Class Mark Ian Nieto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin


• Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class Ronald Scott Owens, Vero Beach, Florida


• Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, Churchville, Maryland


• Fireman Apprentice Patrick Howard Roy, Cornwall on Hudson, New York


• Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class Kevin Shawn Rux, Portland, North Dakota


• Mess Management Specialist 3rd Class Ronchester Mananga Santiago, Kingsville, Texas


• Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Rockport, Texas

Please remember the families and brothers-in-arms of these fallen heroes this week. And remember as well that these brave men and women dedicated and ultimately gave their lives to protect the freedom and liberty on which this great nation was founded.