NORFOLK, Va. — This week marks 24 years since the terrorist attack on USS Cole.
The Norfolk-based guided missile destroyer was docked in Yemen on Oct. 12, 2000, for refueling when al-Qaida suicide bombers attacked, killing 17 sailors and 37 injured crew members. It is considered one of the darkest days in U.S. Navy history.
"Even though it's been 24 years, you never forget," said Mona Gunn, whose son Cherone was one of the Cole crew members who died.
Over two dozen years later, Gunn said she is preparing to mark the dreaded anniversary, once again.
For the former national president of American Gold Star Mothers, the pain does not get better, even with the passage of time.
"No one knows what it's like until you are told that your child that you gave birth to is gone," Gunn said. "It's not the order of things. You're not supposed to outlive your children."
Meanwhile, after umpteen legal delays, the al-Qaida operative charged with masterminding the crime – Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri – has remained locked up at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, still awaiting a death penalty trial.
"People use the word 'closure.' But I don't use that word, closure," said Gunn. "If they find him guilty that would bring that part of the story to an end. There is no closure. We always have memories of our children."
A trial date is set for Oct. 6, 2025 – a week before the 25th anniversary of the Cole attack.
But that date could get delayed once again.
In August 2024, the previous military judge in the case threw out confessions that the defendant made – because they were obtained through the use of torture.