Guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) hosted a namesake blessing at the shipyard at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Nov. 19.

Twin girls whose great uncle is Rear Adm. Gordon P. Chung-Hoon, a native of Honolulu, received a traditional Hawaiian blessing with the ship's bell.

"Today we are doing a blessing for my twins who are a little over six months," said Asti McKean, mother of the girls. "This is special to us because it's on the ship of my great uncle. He passed away before I was born, but I heard so many great things about him and the heroic things he did."

Kahu Kekoa was the "Kahu," or minister, of the blessing. He said this was an intriguing blessing, but a normal one for many Hawaiian families.

"Family is very important in Hawaii," said Kekoa. "We do this for our children. This is unique because the ship represents the Chung-Hoon family, and it is important for us to include the whole family as much as possible."

Chief Petty Officer Chris McKean of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134 in Bremerton, Washington, is the father of the twins. He said the opportunity to do the blessing on the ship was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"We were planning a trip to Hawaii to visit our family," he said. "I thought to myself, 'If we are going to also do the children's blessing, it would be a great opportunity for us to do the blessing on the ship.' When I was a [petty officer] second class, I saw one done on the ship with the ship's bell. That kind of gave me the idea to not only do it on a ship, but this ship that has the family name attached."

The parents said they were more than pleased with the ship's receptive response to the request.

"The Chung-Hoon family line always attends the ship's function when able," said McKean. "They already had a relationship with the ship, and so it wasn't surprising to see how willing the ship was to make this happen."

Cmdr. Victor Sheldon, Chung-Hoon commanding officer, said he spoke on behalf of the crew on the importance of the blessing for the ship, the family, and U.S. naval history.

"This event is very special for us and the people that get to participate in the event," said Sheldon. "This one is extra special with the ship's sponsor and namesake. It's kind of passing traditions from one generation to the next. Rear Admiral Chung-Hoon is a hero, and this moment is also dedicated to him."

Chung-Hoon is a recipient of the Navy Cross and Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism as commanding officer of USS Sigsbee (DD 502) from May 1944 to October 1945. In the spring of 1945, Sigsbee assisted in the destruction of 20 enemy planes while screening a carrier strike force off the Japanese island of Kyushu.

On April 14, 1945, while on radar picket station off Okinawa, a kamikaze crashed into Sigsbee, reducing her starboard engine to five knots and knocking out the ship's port engine and steering control. Despite the damage, then-Cmdr. Chung-Hoon valiantly kept his anti-aircraft batteries delivering "prolonged and effective fire" against the continuing enemy air attack, while simultaneously directing the damage control efforts which allowed his ship to make port under her own power. Chung-Hoon retired October 1959 and died July 1979.

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