US to name warship after Filipino sailor hero

THE United States Navy will name one of its future destroyers after a Filipino sailor who rescued two fellow crewmen when their ship caught fire more than a century ago.

In a tweet Thursday, US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that the next Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will be named after Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad, who joined the US Navy in 1901.

“I am extremely honored to name one of our next Arleigh Burke Destroyers after Petty Officer Telesforo Trinidad the #Navy’s only Filipino #Medal of Honor recipient! We remember Trinidad’s life and legacy today during #AAPIHeritage Month,” Del Toro said in his tweet.

Trinidad was part of the crew of the armored cruiser USS San Diego.

On Jan. 21, 1915, the San Diego was steaming in the Gulf of California as part of naval patrols to protect US interests and citizens in México.

The captain conducted a four-hour, full-speed and endurance trial to determine if the cruiser could still maintain its officially rated flank speed.

At the end of the trials, a tube in one of the ship’s boilers exploded, sparking a fire that spread to the other boilers.

Nine men of the ship’s crew were killed and several others were injured.

Here is an account of the incident from the May 1915 (Vol. IX) issue of Our Navy, the Standard Magazine of the United States Navy: “At the time of the explosion, Trinidad was driven out of fire room No. 2 by the force of the blast, but at once returned and picked up R.E. Daly, Fireman Second Class, whom he saw to be injured and proceeded to bring him out.

“While passing into Fire Room No. 4, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 Fire Room but without consideration for his own safety, although badly burned about the face, he passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 Fire Room.

Trinidad “not only received a letter of commendation but also the muchprized Medal of Honor and a gratuity of one hundred dollars,” according to the article.

Trinidad was born on Nov. 25, 1890, in New Washington, Aklan province. He enlisted in the US Navy as part of the Insular Force in the Philippines in 1910 and served during the First and Second World Wars until his retirement in 1945.

He lived in Imus, Cavite, until his death on May 8, 1968, at the age of 77.

In 1901, US President McKinley signed an executive order allowing the recruitment of 500 Filipinos in the Navy and 6,000 Filipinos in the Army to serve as part of the Insular Force of the War Department.

During World War 1, 6,000 Filipinos enlisted in the US Navy and thousands more were recruited through the interwar years.

In the Second World War, thousands of Filipinos served under the US Army Forces in the Far East and the US 16th Naval District.

After the Philippines obtained its independence from the United States in 1946, more than 35,000 Filipinos were recruited into the US Navy from 1952 to 1992 under the Philippines-United States Military Bases Agreement.

Thousands more Americans of Filipino descent enlisted during this same 40-year period and continue to do so until today.

Trinidad will be the first enlisted sailor and Medal of Honor recipient, and the first American of Filipino descent, to have a combat ship named after him.

In a related development, the Philippine Navy said it will test-fire next month the surface-to-air and surfaceto-surface missiles aboard its two Jose Rizal-class frigates.

“Hopefully, after this anniversary, maybe next month, we will witness the test-firing of our newly acquired weapon systems, itong ating surface-to-air missile at saka surface-to-surface missile na nandiyan sa ating frigates (our surfaceto-surface air missiles and surface-tosurface missiles installed on our frigates),” PN flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Adeluis Bordado said during PN’s 124th founding anniversary.

The Mistral 3 surface-to-air-missiles (SAMs) for the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) were delivered from France last October 8.

Bordado thanked Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for his continued support in modernizing the Philippine Navy.

“But having these modern and multi-capable vessels, armament, and equipment are not enough and I would like to emphasize this again today, the Navy’s assets (and) modernization must complement the modernization of its facilities and the mindset of our personnel,” he said.

Bordado said the newly acquired assets are only as good as the personnel behind them.