Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced that the service’s newest destroyer will bear the historic Intrepid name, according to the Navy.
Del Toro named the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the future Intrepid on Friday while aboard the former carrier Intrepid, now part of its namesake museum in New York City.
“It is deeply meaningful to stand aboard USS Intrepid — the fourth vessel to bear the name, and whose proud legacy continues to inspire and remind so many visitors of the courage, resilience and sacrifice that define the U.S. Navy — and it is with profound respect that we also look to the future of our Navy from these decks,” Del Toro said in release.
The fifth U.S. Navy vessel to be named Intrepid, the destroyer was named “in honor of her past namesakes and the courageous service of all our Sailors globally from the South China Sea to the Red Sea,” Del Toro said.
The first Intrepid dates back to 1798 when it was built in France for Napoleon’s journey to Egypt. It was sold afterward to the Barbary state of Tripoli, named Mastico and later captured in 1803 by the U.S. Navy, at which point it was renamed Intrepid.
The second Intrepid was an experimental torpedo arm that departed from Boston on Aug. 3, 1874, to assist with weapons practice and development. The vessel halted operations in 1892.
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The third Intrepid, a receiving and barracks ship, was launched in 1904 and assigned to the Yerba Buena Training Station and Mare Island Naval Yard in California, while the fourth and most recent Intrepid, an aircraft carrier, was commissioned from 1943 to 1974.
As part of its history, the carrier assisted in the liberation of the Philippines in 1944 and helped invade and attack Japan during World War II, sinking two Japanese battleships and destroying 600 enemy aircraft. It also endured five kamikaze attacks, according to Historynet.
The carrier also served in Vietnam, supported NATO in the 1950s and 1960s and retrieved NASA capsules.
“We know this namesake ship will serve our Navy and our nation proudly as the former USS Intrepid did and continues to do, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that it begins its proverbial journey today at the Intrepid Museum,” Intrepid Museum President Susan Marenoff-Zausner said. “For all of its missions, the entire Museum team wishes the ships and its crew safety and success.”
Del Toro also announced that his wife Betty Del Toro will serve as the ship’s sponsor. A military spouse for more than two decades, she has experienced 17 military moves and is an advocate for military families and children.
“I am especially proud to serve as sponsor for a ship whose name embodies American courage and resilience,” Betty Del Toro said. “Having had the honor and opportunity to stand alongside my husband throughout his active duty Navy career and as the 78th Secretary of the Navy, I embrace this new role — one which emphasizes something that is deeply important to me; supporting Navy Sailors and Marines, and their families.”
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
