US Navy ship named after Fil-Am navyman

MANILA, Philippines — The United States Navy has celebrated the naming of its latest guided-missile ship USS Telesforo Trinidad (DDG 139) in honor of a Filipino.

The celebration also highlighted the military service of US crewmembers with Filipino heritage.

The event was officiated by Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro, who announced the naming of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer after Filipino American Petty Officer 2nd Class Telesforo dela Cruz Trinidad on May 19, 2022.

The USS Telesforo Trinidad (DDG 139) is the latest guided-missile destroyer added to the US Navy’s surface fleet.

It is the first US Navy ship named in honor of a Filipino Medal of Honor recipient and the second ship named after a Medal of Honor recipient of Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent, following the commissioning of the USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) on Dec. 8, 2021.

Trinidad was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 1, 1915, for saving the lives of two of his fellow crewmembers following a series of boiler room explosions aboard the USS San Diego.

He is the only Filipino in the US Navy to be awarded the Medal of Honor and the second service member, and the first and only sailor of Asian descent to receive the award in peacetime. Trinidad served during both World Wars before retiring in the Philippines.

The Philippine embassy in Washington joined the US Navy in the celebration at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 10.

Del Toro also presented the ships’ sponsors Christine Trinidad, a great-granddaughter of Trinidad, and retired Rear Adm. Connie Mariano, the first Filipino-American in history to become a US Navy admiral and the first military woman in American history to be appointed White House physician.

US Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, also of Filipino descent, and several active military members of Filipino heritage attended the event.

“A ship’s commanding officer will change hands, and the crew will come and go, but the sponsors hold a special bond through the ship’s entire lifetime. I am excited for the enduring partnership that Christine and Connie will build with this ship and the crew in the years to come,” Del Toro said.