10th anniversary of Cole bombing Tues.

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Norfolk-based USS Cole.

Seventeen sailors were killed in the suicide bomb attack on Oct. 12, 2000, as the destroyer was on a refueling stop in Aden Harbour, Yemen.

The ship, now back in service, just returned from a deployment to the Gulf of Aden.

From the outside, there is no evidence of the blast that nearly sunk the vessel. But below decks, not only is there still evidence of the attack, but also a deliberate effort to make sure what happened that day is never forgotten by the crew.

Less than two years after the attack, on April 19, 2002, the repaired Cole was recommissioned. It departed on its first six-month deployment in November, 2003, but the USS Cole is more than just another destroyer in the fleet.

"It's a symbol of our resolve in the global war on terror, and it's a symbol of our power," Cmdr. Andrew Ehlers, Cole's commanding officer, told WAVY News 10.

While most of the ship's current crew wasn't old enough to be in the Navy when the ship was attacked, memorials aboard the ship, such as a case holding a smoke-charred flag that survived the blast and 17 gold stars on the passageway known as the Hall of Heroes, serve as constant reminders to the young sailors.

The Hall of Heroes leads directly to the bulkhead that took the brunt of the blast on the day of the terrorist attack.

"It's a constant reminder that there are threats out there," said USS Cole sailor SM Caleb Parker. "There are people out there that don't like us. And you walk down the P-way and you say a little prayer to yourself about the soldiers that lost their lives and everybody that had to fight the ship to keep it afloat."

Eight of the Cole sailors that survived the attack are still fighting, only this battle is in the court room. Just this week, they filed a law suit against the government of Sudan.  In 2007, family members of the 17 sailors killed in the attack persuaded a U.S. court to find Sudanese support allowed al-Qaida bombers to attack the destroyer. They were awarded $13 million in damages and interest from Sudan.

Sudan has denied responsibility. The award was paid from Sudanese assets frozen by the U.S. Government.