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Guided Missile Destroyer ‘Shoup’ to be Commissioned
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
United States Department of Defense

Shoup is the 36th of 58 Arleigh Burke class destroyers currently authorized by Congress, and the 16th of this DDG 51 Aegis destroyer program to be built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.

No. 315-02
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The U.S. Navy will commission Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, Shoup (DDG 86), on Saturday, June 22, 2002, during an 11 a.m. PST ceremony at Port Terminal 37 in Seattle.

The ship honors 22nd commandant of the Marine Corps and Medal of Honor recipient Gen. David M. Shoup (1904-1983) for his actions during the initial landings on Betio, Tarawa Atoll, in the Pacific on Nov. 20-22, 1943. While in command of the Second Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, he carried out his leadership duties and exposed himself to withering enemy fire despite suffering a serious, painful leg wound, which had become infected.

On Jan. 22, 1945, Shoup received the Medal of Honor for his actions. The citation read in part: "By his brilliant leadership, daring tactics and selfless devotion to duty, Colonel Shoup was largely responsible for the final decisive defeat of the enemy." He was also awarded the Purple Heart (oak leaf cluster), Legions of Merit with Combat V and the British Distinguished Service order.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Shoup the commandant of the Marine Corps. Later, he was known as President John F. Kennedy's "favorite general." When President Lyndon Johnson pinned the Distinguished Service Medal on Shoup in 1964, Johnson described him as "strong enough to prevent a war and wise enough to avoid one."

Shoup died on Jan. 13, 1983, at the age of 78. No previous Navy ship has been named for Shoup.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

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