Last Saturday morning at Pier 88 on the Hudson River, the US Navy commissioned its newest destroyer, USS John Basilone. With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, the ceremony took place between the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal .

USS John Basilone (DDG-122) is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. The 72nd ship in the class, the destroyer is named for United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, who received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor, for actions during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific War. He was killed in action during the February 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Basilone was the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross during World War II.

USS John Basilone is commissioned in New York

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.