Future US Navy ship to be named after first Filipino in Navy to receive Medal of Honor
Telesforo Trinidad with USS San Diego
Word is another warship is going to be named after an actual hero. That’s the good news. Great news actually. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (yet to be laid down) will bear the name of Telesforo Trinidad, a US Navy petty officer of Filipino birth who received the Medal of Honor for peacetime valor (common in the US Navy before World War I).
Trinidad was a bad ass who got seriously wounded in a boiler explosion, but went back anyway to rescue a shipmate. He was then there when the next boiler exploded, and again he went to rescue one of his comrades. Amazing bravery. He continued to serve throughout World War I and World War II before retiring and passing away at age 77 in 1968, having returned to spend his twilight years in his native Philippines.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that when you actually read the announcement, this sounds like pandering bs. Here’s the statement from the SECNAV as reported by 10 News San Diego;
[Navy Secretary Carlos] Del Toro said, “My first time learning about Petty Officer Trinidad’s story was as a midshipman at the Naval Academy and since being sworn in as Secretary, I have wanted to honor his heroic actions by naming a ship after him.
This ship and her future crew will be a critical piece in strengthening our maritime superiority while also emphasizing the rich culture and history of our naval heritage.”
The secretary added, “I am pleased to honor Trinidad’s life and legacy today – especially during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Having a ship named after such a significant figure highlights our diverse culture and that our people will always be our strategic advantage against any adversary.
I hope the naming of this ship is a beacon for not only Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders but for all our Sailors, Marines, and civilians who serve across the Department of the Navy. The service and sacrifice of these men and women have made our military and our nation stronger and better.”
Diverse culture…blah, blah, blah…How about we just be inspired by Petty Officer Trinidad’s bravery. His race is irrelevant to his heroic acts.
Category: Medal of Honor, Navy, Valor, We Remember
Honor the hero
Dispense with the pandering, dipschmidts.
Agree. There are more than enough Navy and Marine MOH awardees and history changing battles to name every ship in our dwindling fleet.
The other man who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions that day was equally impressive. Fresh out of the Academy, Ens. Cary would provide impressive leadership to his engineering team through both the casualty and its recovery. The boiler explosions (yes, a cascading casualty) would occur during a speed trial that was pushing the ship and her crew up to the limit. Even normal evolutions can turn sideways and “just a normal watch” literally blows up in your face. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Webster_Cary
The Medal of Honor was different back then. Several got it for helping with the boiler explosion. Years later, the criteria stiffened. Not to take anything away from this man, just saying.
“ His race is irrelevant to his heroic acts.”
Not when it comes to leftist Mason, after all, they are the true and original racists…
Heros come in all shapes, sizes, races, colors, creeds, and both genders. Sadly, so do race hustlers.
I’ll believe we have true diversity and inclusion when they name a ship after Raphael Semmes.
Nice looking 4 stack cage mast ship. I should google the ship and try and find out what the main steam line pressure ran. Ours with one screw/main engine was 600 PSI BT’s standing watch down in the hole watched the water level on the vertical glass tube attached to the boiler for their entire watch.
According to Wikipedia, the Pennsylvania-class had this engineering setup;
I feel like an LA prosecutor.
*grin*