USS John S . McCain ( DDG - 56 ) USS " John S . McCain " ( DDG - 56 ) is an " Arleigh Burke " - class destroyer in the United States Navy . She is part of the Seventh Fleet , and she has her homeport at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka , Japan . This warship is named after John S . McCain , Sr . , and John S . McCain , Jr . , both Admirals in the United States Navy . John S . McCain , Sr . , commanded the aircraft carrier " Ranger " ( CV - 4 ) , and acted as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force during the latter stages of World War II . John S . McCain , Jr . , commanded the U . S . Navy submarines USS " Gunnel " and USS " Dentuda " during World War II . Subsequently he held a number of posts , rising to Commander - in - Chief of the United States Pacific Command before retiring in 1972 . These men were the grandfather and father of John S . McCain III , former naval aviator captain , a U . S . Senator representing the state of Arizona , and the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election . Service . " John S . McCain " s keel was laid down on 3 September 1991 , at the Bath Iron Works in Bath , Maine . The ship was launched on 26 September 1992 , sponsored by Cindy McCain , the wife of Senator John McCain . " McCain " was commissioned on 2 July 1994 , at the Bath Iron Works . The former President of the United States , George H . W . Bush , was the ceremony ' s principal speaker . The ship was initially assigned a home port of Pearl Harbor , Hawaii and shifted to a forward - deploy port in Yokosuka , Japan in 1997 . In January 2003 , John S . McCain deployed to the Persian Gulf . She launched 39 TLAMs in support of the invasion of Iraq and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her service . She is cited by John Keegan in " The Invasion of Iraq " " as having fired the first shots of that war , though many dispute this claim . John S . McCain was awarded the Navy Battle E for DESRON 15 in 2003 and again in 2004 . On 16 February 2007 , " John S . McCain " was awarded the 2006 Battle " E " award . On 11 June 2009 , a Chinese submarine reportedly collided with the towed sonar array of the " John S . McCain " near Subic Bay , the Philippines . The incident caused damage to the array but was described as an " inadvertent encounter " . In June 2009 , " John S . McCain " pursued the North Korean cargo ship " Kang Nam 1 " toward Burma in enforcement of the new United Nations resolution of an arms export embargo against North Korea . The vessel was suspected of carrying arms for the Burmese junta government . The " Kang Nam 1 " returned to North Korea without delivering its cargo to Burma . In July 2009 , the destroyer berthed at Yokohama ' s international passenger terminal on a goodwill tour . The ship was opened to the public on 22 July 2009 . In March 2011 , in company with the carrier " Ronald Reagan " , the ship was deployed off northeastern Honshu , Japan to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake . During that time , the ship may have been exposed to leaking radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents . In April 2013 , the USS McCain was sent to Korea during escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula .