Ralph Johnson DDG 114 Commissioning
Channel: U.S. Navy
Date: 2018-03-22

The Navy will commission its newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), during a 10:00 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, March 24, at Columbus Street Pier in Charleston, South Carolina. 

The future USS Ralph Johnson honors Marine Corps Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War. On March 5, 1968, in an observation post overlooking the Quan Duc Valley, Johnson used his body to shield fellow Marines from a grenade, absorbing the blast and dying instantly. The Charleston native had only been in Vietnam for two months when he was killed at the age of 19.