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Washington, D.C., Oct. 18, 2000 — At a one-hour closed memorial service at the Norfolk, Va., Naval Station this morning for those Sailors killed and missing following the apparent terrorist attack against USS Cole (DDG 67) in Aden, Yemen, Thursday, President Clinton and other military leaders promised an appropriate response to that attack.

Seven Cole Sailors who have been returned and hospitalized at the Naval Medical Center in nearby Portsmouth attended the tribute, some on stretchers and with IVs attached. These Sailors were given a very emotional greeting by the several thousand Navy and Marine Corps personnel and families members on Pier 12 at the Navy's largest base.

After reading the names of the missing and the dead, President Clinton said, "To those who attacked (Cole), we say: you will not find a safe harbor. We will find you and justice will prevail. America will not stop standing guard for peace or freedom or stability in the Middle East and around the world."

Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen said "To those who organized and orchestrated this barbarous act, you are on notice that our search for you will be relentless, that America will not rest until we find you and the long arm of justice reaches out, however long, however far, and makes you pay for this crime."

In speaking of those killed on Cole, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry H. Shelton said, "For our tomorrow, they gave their today." He went on to say "Those who perpetrated this act of terror should also never forget that America's memory is long and our reach longer."

Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig focused on the dedication of the crew of Cole, "For two days and two nights, they fought under the most extreme conditions – blood, bent and broken steel, flooding, uncertainty and danger. They saved their ship, their injured – every one of them – and each other. And then their generators failed. The waters rose, and they had to do it all over again. Waist-deep in water, manning bucket brigades by hand, they did it again. Amidst all of that, their captain said to me, 'Mr. Secretary, we will save this ship. We will repair this ship. We will take this ship home and we will sail this ship again to sea.'"

Adm. Vern Clark, the Chief of Naval Operations, said, " The heroes of Cole achieved what they were reaching for. They made a difference on their ship, with their shipmates, and in our Navy, and forever in our history."

Meanwhile, the Navy team working on recovery of those Sailors killed in Thursday's explosion on USS Cole (DDG 67) in Aden, Yemen, recovered the remains of two more Cole Sailors today. Yesterday, they had retrieved the remains of six of the victims. The bodies of these eight Sailors were flown out of Yemen today. A small ceremony at the airport included escorts from USS Cole, attendants from USS Hawes (FFG-53), and a combined honor guard of U.S. and Yemeni Armed Forces personnel. The U.S. ambassador to Yemen, the Honorable Barbara Bodine, and a Yemeni government official also attended.

The remains of the eight Sailors are being flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware through Bahrain and are expected to arrive in the U.S. at approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday. The bodies are in the process of being identified and the next of kin notified.

The bodies of five Sailors killed in the explosion arrived Saturday at Dover Air Force Base . Those Sailors who remain listed as missing are presumed dead and will be listed as missing until such time as their remains are recovered and identified.

Five U.S. Navy ships, USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), USS Hawes (FFG 53), USS Camden (AOE 2), USS Anchorage (LSD 36), and USS Duluth (LPD 6) are providing watch relief crews, harbor security, damage control equipment, billeting, and food service for the crew of Cole. They will be joined by the fleet ocean tug, USNS Catawba (T-ATF 168), is expected to arrive shortly. USS Tarawa (LHA 1) is also enroute. Tarawa, Anchorage and Duluth make up the Tarawa Amphibious Readiness Group. They will also provide additional force protection.

The blast appears to be the result of an explosion on board a small boat as it approached Cole Thursday morning when the ship was pulling into Aden to take on fuel. The explosion occurred at 12:15 p.m. Bahrain time (5:15 a.m. EDT), causing a 40-foot by 45-foot hole in the port (left) side of the ship at the waterline. Original estimates had placed the size at 20 by 40 feet.

Cole is an Arleigh Burke-class, or Aegis, guided missile destroyer, based in Norfolk, Va. The ship is part of the USS George Washington Battle Group, and was in transit from the Red Sea to a port visit in Bahrain when the ship stopped in Aden for routine refueling. The destroyer departed Norfolk for its deployment Aug. 8 and was scheduled to return home Dec. 21. -USN-