U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced on 19-May-2022 that a future destroyer will be named the USS Telesforo Trinidad in honor of a Filipino sailor who rescued a crew members when their ship caught fire more than a century ago. Despite his face being burned by an explosion, he still went back inside the ship to save another victim. He is the first Filipino to have a U.S. ship named after him.

Del Toro’s first time to learn about Telesforo Trinidad was during his years as a midshipman at the Naval Academy. “Since being sworn in as Secretary, I have wanted to honor his heroic actions by naming a ship after him,” Del Toro said. “This ship and her future crew will be a critical piece in strengthening our maritime superiority while also emphasizing the rich culture and history of our naval heritage.”

The news brought cheer to Asian Americans, veterans and civilians in both the U.S. and the Philippines who had campaigned for the naming. They said a Filipino-named ship would not only honor Trinidad but also the tens of thousands of Filipinos and Americans of Filipino descent who have served in the U.S. Navy since 1901, when the Philippines was a United States territory.

Fireman 2^nd Class Telesforo De La Cruz Trinidad was born in Panay Island, Philippines on 25-November-1890. He died in 1968 at age 77. Trinidad was aboard the USS San Diego in January 1915 when boilers exploded, killing nine crew. He was among more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers who served in World War II, including thousands who died during the brutal 1942 Bataan Death March and the prisoners of war at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac in the Philippines.

A future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will bear Telesforo Trinidad’s name, Del Toro said. He stated the destroyers are the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet.