While the ship was refueling offshore, a small craft with  two men on board --presumed to be suicide bombers--approached the ship and exploded. The small boat is  believed to have been packed with 400-700 pounds of explosives,  and the blast blew a 40-foot hole in the side of the USS Cole.  The Memorial honors the Sailors who lost their lives  in the October 2000 terrorist attack on USS COLE.