Bath Iron Works christens latest Navy destroyer, named after WWII hero John Basilone

Courtesy / Bath Iron Works Ryan Manion breaks the christening bottle on the bow of the future USS John Basilone (DDG 122). Manion is the president of the Travis Manion Foundation, named for her brother who was killed in action in Iraq.

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By Jessica Hall

Bath Iron Works on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer, the future USS John Basilone, named for a World War II hero, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone.

The christening of the ship, DDG 122, took place at Bath Iron Works’ shipyard with a crowd of roughly 2,000 shipbuilders, family members and invited guests.

“Today at Bath Iron Works, we’re not going to the front lines ourselves, but our work is,” said Chuck Krugh, the new president of Bath Iron Works. “And we will do everything we can to make sure that the ships that sail down the Kennebec will be the best built to protect the men and women of our armed forces.”

Basilone received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross for his heroism in the Battle of Guadalcanal and Battle of Iwo Jima.

At Guadalcanal, Basilone and the dozen Marines he led repelled an assault by soldiers of Japan, first with machine guns, then with pistols, and finally with bare hands. Basilone's bravery and leadership helped to secure America’s first land victory in the war's Pacific Theater.

Basilone returned stateside to support the war effort selling war bonds. Although his tour raised far more than its goal, he felt his place was with his fellow Marines on the battlefield. He convinced his commanders to send him back to the front lines, where he joined his fellow Marines in storming the beach at Iwo Jima. A mortar round killed Basilone, and he earned the Navy Cross posthumously for his courage and determination during the battle.

“Make no mistake, that when you see this ship, and you see the name that it bears, the warrior spirit of Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone and every generation of Marines who like me and countless others have followed in his footsteps lives within the soul of this vessel,” said Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black. “This name represents the perseverance of America, the legacy of the Marine Corps and the grit of our enlisted Marines.”

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said, “We celebrate one of the most capable and proven warships in the world, built in a state-of-the-art facility by the industry’s most skilled hands, manned by officers and crew with the highest level of training and expertise, all working as a team to meet the security challenges of the 21st century."

The 500-foot-long, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is the second ship to be named after Basilone. The first, a Gearing-class destroyer launched in 1945, served 28 years and earned three battle stars for service in the Vietnam War.

In addition to John Basilone, Bath Iron Works currently has under construction the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) and Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127) as well as the Flight III destroyers Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), William Charette (DDG 130) and Quentin Walsh (DDG 132).

Bath Iron Works, founded in 1884, was acquired in 1995 by Reston, Va.-based General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), one of the largest defense contractors in the world. In 2021, the company reported $38.5 billion in revenue.