On this day in the Year 2000

The USS Cole was attacked, blowing a 40x60 foot hole in the hull. The ship was saved only because of the heroic damage control efforts on the part of the crew. It should be noted that this attack, paid for and directed by Al-Qaeda, preceded 9/11 by eleven months. Let us not forget the brave men and women who, in the finest of Naval tradition, kept the ship afloat despite having a hole in the side of the ship large enough to fit a school bus in - sideways.