WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced May 19 that the future destroyer will be named the USS Telesforo Trinidad in honor of a Filipino sailor who Two crew members were rescued when a ship caught on fire more than a century ago.
Firefighter Telesforo De La Cruz Trinidad is the only Filipino in the U.S. Navy to receive the Medal of Honor. He received the honor for his actions aboard the USS San Diego in 1915, when the honor could be awarded for non-combat courage.
“Since being sworn in as secretary of state, I have wanted to honor his heroic deeds by naming a ship after him,” del Toro said in a statement. “This ship and her future crew will be a key part of enhancing our maritime dominance, while also underscoring the rich culture and history of our naval heritage.”
The news cheered Asian Americans, veterans and civilians in the U.S. and the Philippines who urged the naming. A named ship will also honor the tens of thousands of Filipinos and Filipino Americans who have served in the U.S. Navy since 1901, when the Philippines was a U.S. territory, they said.
Trinidad died in 1968 at the age of 77 after a boiler explosion aboard the USS San Diego in January 1915, killing nine people. He was one of more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers who served in World War II, including thousands who died in the brutal 1942 Bataan Death March in the Philippines.
Del Toro said future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers will be named after Trinidad. The destroyer is the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet, the statement said.
