NEW GUIDED-MISSILE DESTROYER NAMED AFTER HEROIC MEDAL OF HONOR MARINE
BATH, Maine — Champagne sprayed, crowds cheered and tears flowed Saturday as the mother of the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor since Vietnam christened the Navy’s 59th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the DDG 109 with its new name, the USS Jason Dunham.
Sgt. Maj. Michael Templeton, Dunham’s former company first sergeant, carefully clutches Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Jason Dunham’s dress blue uniform as Maj. Trent A. Gibson, Dunham’s former company commander, stands at the position of attention during the christening of the Navy destroyer bearing Dunham’s name Aug. 1 at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Dunham’s parents donated his dress blue uniform to be displayed on the ship’s quarterdeck.
Deb Dunham, accompanied by her biological and Marine Corps family, witnessed not only a ceremony to launch a ship into the Kennebec River, but the beginning of a lasting memorial to the courageous act which earned her son the Medal of Honor.
The story of Cpl. Jason Dunham’s selfless sacrifice was told and retold by a variety of prominent military men and members of congress including the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and the former Commandant of the Marine Corps retired General Michael Hagee, who presented Cpl. Dunham with the Purple Heart Medal and stood by his bedside as he died.
Hagee said the warship will serve as a reminder that freedom is paid for by the men and women who wear the cloth of this nation.
“They are willing to give up everything that is important: love, marriage, children, family and friends,” Hagee said of the hero from Scio, N.Y. “I can tell you I’ve always stood in awe of that.”
Cpl. Kelly Miller and Sgt. Bill Hampton, the two Marines whose lives were saved by Cpl. Jason Dunham’s actions which earned him the Medal of Honor, touch the propeller, or “screw,” of the ship named after their fallen hero and friend after it’s christening Saturday at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.
His sentiments were shared by many who attended the ceremony as one could look across the crowd and find it hard to spot a dry eye.
“I’ve seen many destroyers built, christened and sail out of this place,” said John Mcilhinney, the dry-dock operating engineer with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. “This one is special. Everyone I’ve met, everyone I know who’s worked on her would say the same thing.
“The story behind the men behind the ships we build is what makes my job so worthwhile,” said the Casca, Maine native.
For this destroyer’s crew, the story holds extreme significance. The day before the ceremony, Cmdr. Scott Sciretta, the warship’s commanding officer, spoke directly to his crew and told them to think about the man behind the ship’s name and seek inspiration in his story as they go about their daily work.
“Cpl. Jason Dunham gave everything for our country,” he said to the crew. “Think about that and use it to motivate you to give that tiny bit more every day.”
To help remind the crew of Dunham’s sacrifice, Deb and Dan Dunham, the fallen hero’s parents, decided to donate their son’s dress blue uniform to be displayed on the ship’s quarterdeck.
After the christening ceremony, Sgt. Maj. Michael Templeton, Dunham’s former company first sergeant; Maj. Trent Gibson, Dunham’s former company commander; and Sgt. Bill Hampton and Cpl. Kelley Miller, the two Marines whose lives were saved with Cpl. Dunham’s sacrifice, formally presented the ship’s command with each item of Dunham’s dress blue uniform.
Mabus summed up the day perfectly saying “though Jason is no longer with us, his name will live on in this magnificent warship that represents the best our nation has to offer.
“Jason’s spirit – as a warrior, fighter, and one who never gave up, even in the face of great challenges – lives on to lead all of the men and women who will ever serve aboard USS Jason Dunham, in home waters and abroad,” he said.
“In the fighting spirit of its namesake, the men and women of USS Jason Dunham will never back down from any challenge put before them.”
USS Jason Dunham will undergo months of construction and sea-trials before being officially commissioned into service in 2010.