On November 26, 2022, I went and saw the movie DEVOTION, which is the inspirational true story of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in U.S. Navy history, and his enduring friendship with fellow fighter pilot Tom Hudner. Helping to turn the tide in the most brutal battle in the Korean War, their heroic sacrifices ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen. It is a great movie and I think it starts nationwide Nov 26 and in my hometown in CA it goes until Thursday (unless there are enough attendees to get another week).  For his heroism in Korea, he earned the Medal of

Honor. Thomas J. Hudner Jr. continued in the Navy and reached the rank of CAPT.  In 1964 he was a CDR and the Executive Officer of Fighter Squadron Fifty-Three (VF-53) and was on the USS TICONDEROGA (CVA-14) 1964 Cruise. 

On 7 May 2012, Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, announced the DDG-116 name would be named Thomas Hudner.  The ship was commissioned on 1 December 2018 and is homeported in Mayport, FL. 

To continue with our history lesson, the 1964 cruise also had CDR James. B. Stockdale who was the Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron Fifty-One (VF-51). He continued in the Navy and reached the rank of Vice Admiral and

also received the Medal of Honor. He was the first person with a USS TICONDEROGA history to have a ship named after him.  The USS STOCKDALE (DDG-106) was commissioned on April 8, 2009, and is homeported in San Diego,
CA

The other person with a relationship to USS TICONDEROGA was RADML Wayne E. Meyer, and in July 1975, he became the founding Project Manager, Aegis Shipbuilding, with project code PMS-400.  The Aegis system was eventually installed on a modified version of the Spruance-class hull, the first of which was designated as DDG-47, and later changed to CG-47. The ship was appropriated in 1978, and shortly after construction began at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. USS TICONDEROGA (CG-47) was commissioned on January 22, 1983, and a short nine months later fired guns at Lebanon.  The DDG-108 was named Wayne E. Meyer and was commissioned on October 10, 2009, and is homeported in Pearl Harbor, HI. 

The Association has made a plaque presentation to all of these ships and data on that is in the following newsletters:  DDG-106 in June 2010 newsletter on page 3, DDG-108 in April 2018 newsletter on page 7 and DDG-116 in October 2018 newsletter on pages 11-13.  All our newsletters are on our old website www.bigt.net and on the first page click on the newsletter on the right side under the words FEATURED PAGES.  It will open a page that has a link to each of our newsletters for the past 12 years. 

I hope you get to enjoy the movie but if you cannot make it it will probably be available in/on some other media within a year.

Your shipmate,

Ed Trotter