Medal of Honor recipient watches as warship bearing his identify is christened in Maine

BATH, Maine — Marine 1st Lt. Harvey “Barney” Barnum jumped to the bottom when he got here below fireplace throughout an ambush in Vietnam that killed his radio operator and commander.

Accumulating himself, Barnum realized he was now the highest-ranking officer of a rifle firm he’d simply joined. He known as in artillery and, amid gunfire, dragged the commander to security, the place he died in Barnum’s arms. Then he proceeded to mount a counterattack, oversee evacuation of the wounded and lead the unit’s eventual get away to rejoin the battalion.

The Medal of Honor recipient, now 83, watched Saturday as his spouse smashed a bottle of glowing wine towards the bow to christen the long run U.S. Navy destroyer that’ll bear the identify Harvey C. Barnum Jr.

He stated he was speechless when he realized {that a} warship would bear his identify. “As anyone that is aware of Barney Barnum is aware of, I’ve by no means been speechless,” he joked earlier than the occasion.

The ceremony on Saturday at Navy shipbuilder Bathtub Iron Works was a tribute to the Vietnam Struggle hero who throughout his first firefight was foisted into management of Marines who didn’t but know his identify as a result of he’d simply joined them a few days earlier.

Dignitaries included Maine’s governor and senators, in addition to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who praised Barnum’s humility and generosity, along with being a warfare hero who impressed fellow Marines.

Gen. Eric Smith, the performing Marine Corps commandant whose nomination to steer the Marine Corps is being blocked by a Republican senator, known as Barnum “an icon, a legend, a Marine.”

In an interview, Barnum stated the fight was harrowing on that day, Dec. 18, 1965, throughout Operation Harvest Moon. His unit was outnumbered, caught off guard and separated from the bigger battalion outdoors the village of Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province.

The ship’s namesake stated he was scared like all people else however he tried to not present it. The opposite Marines have been trying to him, an artillery spotter, after their commander died, he stated.

To launch a counterattack, he brandished a .45-caliber handgun and instructed the others to observe him. They did.

“It’s a troublesome enterprise. However when it will get powerful, the powerful get going and that’s what Marines do,” he stated. “We got here collectively as a group. And, you understand, there’s no fury unleashed that is better than that of a bunch of Marines that know that their buddies have been shot.”

Barnum later turned the primary Medal of Honor recipient within the Vietnam battle to return for one more tour. He retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel after practically three a long time of service and served the secretary of protection as principal director of drug enforcement coverage, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for reserve affairs, and performing assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs.

Barnum, of Reston, Virginia, was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, and studied at Saint Anslem School, a Benedictine school in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The college’s abbot, Mark Cooper, delivered the invocation on Saturday.

The occasion was a household affair for Barnum, who now lives in Virginia.

His spouse, Martha Hill, served because the ship’s sponsor. On the occasion Saturday, she was in a wheelchair; Barnum has been her care supplier since she had a stroke greater than 5 years in the past. Her daughter; two granddaughters, one in all whom sang “God Bless America;” and an 11-year-old great-granddaughter have been additionally individuals on the occasion Saturday. Different household and buddies have been current.

Displacing 9,500 tons, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is constructed to concurrently wage warfare towards submarines, plane and missiles, and different warships. The latest variations are being outfitted for ballistic missile protection.

The 510-foot (155 meters) guided-missile destroyer was in dry dock for the ceremony as work continues to organize the ship for supply to the Navy.

___

Comply with David Sharp on Twitter @David_Sharp_AP