Navy Gets Two Right
The Navy has caught flack recently regarding naming its ships. But recently the Navy announced names for two new ships that are IMO apropos. One will be named after a former SECNAV; the other, after a MoH recipient.
DDG-117 will be named for Mr. Paul Ignatius. Mr. Ignatius was a Navy Lieutenant during World War II. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics) and as Secretary of the Navy during the LBJ administration.
The next destroyer to be built will be named after the late Senator Daniel Inouye. As a member of the US Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), then SGT Inouye received a battlefield commission for his actions during the 442nd RCTs breakthrough to rescue World War II’s “Lost Battalion” (1st Batalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division) in the Vosage Mountains of France in late October 1944. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in action at San Terenzo, Italy, on 21 April 1945. Senator Inouye’s DSC, along with decorations of 19 other members of the 442nd RCT, were later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death in December 2012, Senator Inouye was the second-longest serving Senator in US history.
I can’t argue with naming a ship after a Navy Veteran who later became SECNAV. And even if he wasn’t Navy, IMO any former MoH recipient is a fitting choice as a namesake for a US Navy ship.
Kudos to the SECNAV for getting these two right.
Category: Navy
I suspect that both wereDemocrats were more important to this current SECNAV.
Isn’t that like naming an Army installation Fort Nimitz or Fort Halsey? At least it’s a detroyer. That’s an appropriate type of Navy ship for Inouye.
Being from Hawaii, Inouye supported the NAVY big time during his Career… I fully support this… But subs should be Named after FISH!
I was a member of the 1-141 INF (M) from 1976 until 1989 and retained the 141st INF as my regimental affiliation for the remainder of my less-than-stellar military career. The 141st is/was grateful for the efforts and sacrifice of the 442nd RCT and a granite memorial stands in San Antonio honoring them.
I agree with 2/17th Air Cav. Naming a DD for an 11B is a bit strange and has an air of politics about it.
At least this will partially assuage the stain of naming two Navy ships after John Murtha and Caesar Chavez.
AW1 Tim: not in my book. People who say that serving in the Navy were “the two worst years of my life” and those who malign the military publicly simply do not deserve having ships named after them. IMO nothing short of formally rechristening those two ships will rectify that error.
But I guess this does prove that the current SECNAV isn’t a complete idiot, and can learn from past mistakes.
My old friend, Bernie Fisher, got the Medal of Honor for his actions in Viet Nam, and he has a ship named after him.
Here’s the URL where you can see a photograph of the ship:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/writesong/3080314441/in/set-72157600590660317/lightbox/
@2- Shughart and Gordon have ships named after them as well, but they are supply ships.
http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=155
http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=94
It is fairly unusual for the navy to name a combat ship after army personnel, but it does happen. I don’t know if I like it much, as there’s a ton of naval personnel that should come before the late senator for a combat slot. For instance, there is not currently an Ernest E. Evans or a Johnston on the active roster, and that is asinine.
Did they run out of Marxist Martyrs? Waiting to give Che his own minesweeper?
butthurt sailor alert.
Followed the link about San Terenzo to the Senator’s page on Wikipedia. Words fail me. How can someone keep going with such wounds?
George V.
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