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USS LABOON DDG-58

Home » Ships » DDG-58

Hull Number: DDG-58

Launch Date: 02/20/1993

Commissioned Date: 03/18/1995

Call Sign: NJFL


Class: ARLEIGH BURKE

ARLEIGH BURKE Class

Namesake: FATHER JOHN FRANCIS (JAKE) LABOON, JR.

FATHER JOHN FRANCIS (JAKE) LABOON, JR.

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

John Francis “Jake” Laboon Jr. (11 April 1921 – 1 August 1988) was an officer of the United States Navy, who served as a submariner in World War II and as a Roman Catholic chaplain in the Vietnam War.[1]

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 11 April 1921, John Laboon attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology for one year after high school at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School. In 1939, he entered the United States Naval Academy, where he excelled in both athletics and academics. In 1942, he was a member of the All-East Football Team, and in 1943, “jumped ship” to college lacrosse, where he was selected for the Intercollegiate National Championship Navy Lacrosse Team, defenseman on the All-American Lacrosse Squad, and participated in the North-South All-Star game. He also served as president of the Newman Club, a Catholic campus ministry group.

After accelerated graduation in 1943, he trained as a submarine officer at New London, Connecticut, and upon completion, was assigned to USS Peto (SS-265). During his tour, Laboon served as Communications Officer, Gunnery and Torpedo Officer, and Executive Officer.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Laboon was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic actions on Peto’s tenth war patrol. Following pick-up of a downed American pilot near Honshū, the crew searched for his wingman. The second aviator was soon spotted, but the water was shallow and mined, preventing Peto from maneuvering closer. To make matters worse, they were under intense enemy fire from a Japanese shore battery. The submarine’s commanding officer called for a volunteer, and without hesitation, LTJG Laboon dove off the submarine. Swimming through the mined waters, he rescued the pilot.

Lieutenant Laboon resigned from naval service shortly after the end of World War II, and entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) on 31 October 1946. On 17 July 1956, Father Jake was ordained a Jesuit priest at Woodstock, Maryland.

Father Laboon then applied for a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps in February 1957, and in December 1958 was recalled to active duty. Over the course of the next 22 years, “Father Jake” served in various duty stations around the world, including Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and South Vietnam. While in Vietnam, he was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat “V” for his fearless actions as battlefield Chaplain with the 3rd Marine Division in April 1969.

Other notable milestones in his distinguished career included the honor of nomination for promotion to the rank of admiral and service as chief of chaplains. The Polaris submarine program was also blessed with having Father Jake as its first chaplain. The U.S. Naval Academy was likewise honored with his services as the Senior Catholic Chaplain. On 31 October 1980, Captain Laboon retired as Fleet Chaplain, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

After retirement from the navy, Father Laboon returned to Annapolis, Maryland, to oversee the construction of the Jesuit-retreat facility, Manresa-on-Severn, within view of the U.S. Naval Academy. His final assignment was pastor of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church in Woodstock, Maryland. He served there until his death on 1 August 1988.

In 1993, the destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58) was named in honor of Father Laboon. The Chaplain’s Center at the Naval Academy is also named in his honor.



Ship History

USS LABOON DDG-58 Ship History

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

USS Laboon (DDG-58) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for Father John Francis Laboon (1921–1988), a captain in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy, who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II while serving on the submarine USS Peto.

Laboon‘s keel was laid down in 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched in 1993, and commissioned in 1995.

Laboon‘s keel was laid down on 23 March 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched on 20 February 1993. Laboon was commissioned on 18 March 1995.

In the fall of 1996, she fired Tomahawk missiles at targets in Iraq, thus becoming the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to engage in combat.[4]

In 1998, Laboon took part in NATO Exercise Dynamic Response 98, together with USS Wasp‘s Amphibious Ready Group.[5]

On 12 September 2012, Laboon was ordered to the coast of Libya in what the Pentagon called a “contingency” in case a strike was ordered. This was in response to the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks.[6]

On 21 June 2015, Laboon entered the Black Sea along with the French ship Dupuy de Lôme as part of NATO‘s presence missions following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[7] While in the Black Sea, Laboon participated in joint maneuvers with a Romanian Navy Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvette for two days beginning on 22 June 2015.[citation needed] On 27 June 2015, Laboon began a two-day visit to the Black Sea port of Batumi, Georgia, to participate in training with the Coast Guard of Georgia and offer tours of the ship.[8]

On 14 April 2018, she fired seven Tomahawk missiles from a position in the Red Sea as part of a bombing campaign in retaliation for the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against people in Douma.[9]

On 14 October 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed Dwight D. Eisenhower and her carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser Philippine Sea, along with Laboon, and sister-destroyers Mason and Gravely, to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Israel’s war with Hamas.[10] This was the second carrier strike group to be sent to the region in response to the conflict, following Gerald R. Ford and her group, which was dispatched only six days earlier.[11]

On 23 December 2023, while patrolling in the southern Red Sea, Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial attack drones that originated from areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and were inbound toward Laboon.[12][13]

Subsequently, on 14 January 2024, an anti-ship missile was fired in the direction of Laboon from a Houthi-controlled portion of Yemen, according to CENTCOM. [14]

Awards