The second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer was named for a Navy SEAL on Saturday, when the mother of Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor christened the ship for her fallen son.
Monsoor died in 2006 when he threw himself on a grenade and saved two fellow SEALS,
The Associated Press reported. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously and he had received a Silver Star and Bronze Star for heroism under fire on two earlier occasions.
About 2,000 people watched Sally Monsoor christen the ship by smashing a bottle against it after saying "May God bless this ship, and all who sail within her."
The Zumwalt class of destroyers is "the most advanced naval destroyer the world has ever seen," U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said at the ceremony, according to the AP, adding that its christening is a tribute to Monsoor.
"His legacy will live on as this great ship conducts its mission in defense of our nation," she said.
The ship is one of three expected to cost a total of about $22.5 billion,
CNN reported. The Navy took ownership of the first last month, and the third is under construction in Maine.
The fleet of three Zumwalt class destroyers is scaled down from the 32 originally envisioned, as the Navy has shifted its focus to an updated version of the Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, CNN said.
The largest and most technologically sophisticated destroyer, the Zumwalt can fire up to 63 nautical miles.
"I have every confidence that the ship and crew will both live up to and honor Petty Officer Monsoor's legacy as the ship's motto implies — You Never Quit," Janine Davidson, undersecretary of the Navy, said in a news release.
Monsoor was in sniper position during the 2006 Battle of Ramadi in Iraq when an insurgent threw a fragmentation grenade, the
Navy Times reported. He threw himself atop the grenade, saving two other SEALs.
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