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That's How you Name a Ship
By Bull Nav
There was some discussion in my post the other day about ship naming and how it has...progressed.
Well, Navy Times is reporting on the name of the last ship of the ARLEIGH BURKE (DDG51) class.
The last Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will bear the name of a Navy SEAL awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan.The Michael Murphy, DDG 112, honors Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who led a four-man team searching for a key Taliban leader in mountains near Asadabad, Afghanistan.
Remember that another Medal of Honor recipient was also recently honored this way.
I believe that this is how you name ships: by honoring those who have gone before you. Individuals, battles, prior ships...that is tradition, that is honor.
That is something you can stand behind and hold your head up high.
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SSG Jeff, most aircraft carriers still in commission today have been named for Presidents or national leaders and I think it appropriate that we do so.
John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt are names represented in aircraft carriers which are universally recognized capital ships because of their ability to project a nation's power beyond the shores.
I, for one, am glad to see combatant ships being named after regular warriors like Jason Dunham and Michael Murphy. In the past MoH recipients have had transport ships named after them.
He deserves the honor-heck, he deserved to live, but getting a MOH means you are the type of person who'll put others first. i'm glad he is being honored.
Oh, by the way, the book about him, Lone Survivor, is amazing, and I am looking forward to the movie version-they better make it good.
There is a CrossFit workout named after Michael Murphy... hardest workout I've ever done. What a guy, and the best way to name a ship.
The trend toward naming carriers after presidents and politicians is sickening. The entire character of how we honor our country through warship names is warped. There is nothing wrong with naming a destroyer or FFG the Forrestal or Nimitz. However, Midway, Valley Forge or Enterprise represent something much more then an individual.
I understand that these names are now bestowed upon CGs, but I say lets name them after city's again and name our attack subs after fish, destroyer and frigate names luckily are still named properly. I suppose the boomers will retain state names since there are no more battlewagons.
Three cheers for The Michael Murphy.
So, Doug, you would be opposed to an Aircraft carrier being named after John McCain? Hypothetically speaking, of course, since there already is a Destroyer named after Sen. McCain's father and grandfather.
I'd be fine with keeping the names of CVN's as presidents, but in the US navy, there should always be an Enterprise.
Hey BR,
The correct nomenclature is recipient. I remember vividly being corrected by a salty old sailor for calling him a "winner". He did not take kindly to it.
Neal - hey BR, corrected.
Josh,
I would be opposed to such a move. Destroyers and frigate names are reserved for naval heroes. But he still has my vote going this fall.
This will be the second Destroyer named Murphy. My father served on the first during WW2. Here is a link to its story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Murphy_(DD-603)
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Can we quit naming them for politicians? Any politicians.... regardless of prior military service.