Especially honored among those remembered is San Diego native and US Navy Seaman Lakiba Nicole Palmer, whose family attended the ceremony, which included a flyover, 21-gun salute and more atop the La Jolla landmark. 

The Cole was refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen, when “a small boat laden with explosives approached her port side, and in an instant, a violent act of terrorism by al Qaeda terrorists” lifted the boat out of the water, killing Palmer and 16 others and injuring dozens, said Memorial Association Executive Director Neil O’Connell.

Palmer, 22, was “a young woman with a bright future, like many who followed in the footsteps of those before her,” O’Connell said, joining the Navy after graduating from San Diego High School.

She embodied honor, courage and commitment, O’Connell said. “She lived with service in her soul and in her heart.” 

“Her loss and the loss of her shipmates was a blow not just to the families and their shipmates, but to all Americans.”

Palmer was “a thriving, energetic member of our crew,” said Ret Capt Chris Peterschmidt, who served as executive officer aboard the Cole during the attack. 

The heroism of all those on the ship “was not accidental,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “It was the product of rigorous training and unshakable discipline, that deep and abiding commitment to each other and to our nation.”

San Diego honors those lost “by being better neighbors and by being better citizens, and honor them by standing united, because division weakens the very ideals that they died to protect,” Gloria said.

The Mt Soledad Memorial Association members “reflect and remember and renew our commitment to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” O’Connell said.

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