USS Ralph Johnson to be commissioned Saturday
Clay sends us the news that USS Ralph Johnson. an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, has arrived in Charleston, South Carolina for it’s commissioning ceremony on Saturday. The destroyer is named for Charleston native Marine Private First Class Ralph Johnson who sacrificed his life for those of his Marine Corps brothers when he shielded them from a grenade blast with his body;
In the early morning hours of Mar. 5, 1968 during Operation ROCK, Private First Class Johnson and his 15-man reconnaissance patrol manned an observation post on Hill 146 overlooking the Quan Duc Duc Valley deep in enemy controlled territory. They were attacked by a platoon-size hostile force employing automatic weapons, satchel charges and hand grenades.
As the enemy raced up the hill, a hand grenade landed in the three-man fighting hole occupied by Pfc. Johnson and two fellow Marines. Realizing the danger to his comrades, Pfc. Johnson shouted a warning and willingly hurled himself upon the explosive device.
When the grenade exploded, Pfc. Johnson absorbed the impact of the blast and was killed instantly. His heroic act saved the life of a fellow Marine at the cost of his own and prevented the enemy from penetrating his sector of the patrol’s perimeter.
Pfc. Johnson was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.
The VA hospital in Charleston also bears his most honorable name.
Category: Navy
THERE is an example of who US Navy Warships need to be named after, WARRIORS like him, NOT politicians like that COngresswoman from AZ or that one from San Foo-foo.
This is indeed the right answer, naming them after true warriors versus PC turds should be a no brainer.
Fuckin’ A right, PI!!!!
Word.
Can’t add a single word to that to make it more true.
Exactly correct, Brother.
So true, API..
I love the USMC!
Absotively! Well done, US Navy.
Not to suggest that the MoH was not earned and rightfully awarded, but in a way, this is an even greater honor than a posthumous MoH. His name lives on. He is appropriately remembered each and every day. His honor and service to his fellow Marines and the citizens of this great country is celebrated continuously, potentially in every corner of the world.
Bravo!
OWB, I agree with your statement, but as long as there is a Marine Corps, they live on. We remember them and carry on their traditions.
Oh, no insult meant toward the Corps, Steve. No doubt he is well remembered by the Corps. I just like the idea that his name will now be uttered around the world by others as well.
I have the highest regard for the US Marine Corps. It ranks closely behind my own USAF in my mind and heart. (Maybe because those are the only services represented by my generation of warriors in the family? Until we two, it was Army all the way since the Revolutionary War and prior, if you want to count non-US military service. And one civilian engineer attached to the US Navy during WWII.)
That will be a honorable plank to own.
You’re damn right. Would cherish being a plank owner.
I would rather be towed by a life raft for my entire enlistment than to be assigned to the USNS Harvey Milk. And it’s an OILER!
Yeah, the Navy needs fuel of course but might as well call it the USNS Liberace Bath House.
That is a disgrace.
They could have named it the USNS Harvey Keitel who was a Marine and fought in Lebanon in 1958.
https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-harvey-keitel.html
A little tongue in cheek, but the Milk does provide ‘lubricants’, so perhaps an appropriate name/function combination.
The Harvey Milk and the USS Gabby Giffords were two examples of what I was talking about as well as the one named after Ex-Marine John Murtha.
They still need to stop naming ships after politicians.
+++!
With the exception of Washington and Lincoln, presidents, also.
IMO.
He will live on every single time the CO of that ship departs or arrives.
‘Ding Ding…Ding Ding
Ralph Johnson Arriving (Departing)
Ding Ding…Ding Ding’
BZ Navy and Semper Fidelis USMC
BZ!
Well done Marine! You will never be forgotten.
Tell me how the fuck Carl Levin deserves any honor on par with this man.
No words, TOW. No words.
I’ll never understand how Mabus thought. Except he hated our military, hated the Navy and Marine Corp in particular and never met a queer he didn’t like.
I go to the Ralph H Johnson VAMC. In Charleston which my CBOC is sort of as well. His MOH hangs in the foyer of the hospital.
Part of not sort of lol
This is a fine young man who did all the right things, despite the cost. He should be the example to others, not the idiotic creatures we see now.
Glad to know that Ralph Johnson is being honored appropriately.
It would be an honor to be able to serve aboard her.
So that others may live….. An incredibly deserving recognition of his courage, his INSTANTANEOUS and totally committed action. I hope the two men that were saved by his sacrifice survived their tours and are alive to be present at the commissioning of this fine warship, and if not, may a few of both his and their relatives be able to attend the ceremony. SEMPER FI — LOVE LIVE RALPH JOHNSON!
PFC Johnson is one of only a handful of MoH recipients buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery. I pass his grave every time I visit my parents graves there.
🇺🇸🎖👍
Ships should be named for combat heroes, like this honored Marine…
Ships should NEVER be named for PC queers, lying pols, or pseudo-celebrities…
Stank ass hippy Mabus needs to be bitch-slapped…
Men like PFC Johnson simply humble us all with their courage.
No more fitting person to have a ship named after.
RIP, Marine.
Since the PC crowd is trying to run our lives, the Military has as far as I am concerned gone down hill. Thank God the ship was named after this Marine who gave his life to save others.
“The VA hospital in Charleston also bears his most honorable name.” His most honorable name.
Amen.
Well deserved honor. That is a handsome pic of PFC Johnson. Just curious, is the white cord on his uniform the USMC equivalent to the Army blue Infantry cord?
If my fuzzy memory is still clear enough to keep my FMF honors intact, I think it is related to the French military.
Far from certain but I believe it’s the Fourragere, authorized to be worn for members of 6th Marines, 1st or 2d MARDIV, can’t recall 1st or 2d with 100& accuracy.
Odd when the Dems are out of power and Obama is a bad memory, suddenly Navy Ships go from being named after Big Ego Congressmen and gay pedophiles to bearing the name of a true hero.
BAMF Recon Marines doing heroic sh1t in combat?
Must have happened on a day ending in ‘y’.
Next?