Laboon (DDG 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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has sf 7 - -3 i If -X 'H .17 V Q .4 4-'Z 5 f- f . v 'Q' f' fi Fearless Fifty-Eight's Namesake The Fearless Fifty-Eight honors the distinguished career of Captain John Francis Jake Laboon. Chaplain Corps, U.S. Navy. Known to most simply as Father Jake , he devoted his life to the service of God, Country and the Navy. A football star and National Championship Lacrosse All-American, Laboon graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy as a member of the class of 1944. Assigned to the submarine USS PETO CSS 2655, Laboon. a Lieutenant Junior Crrade at the time, was awarded the Silver Star for bravery after diving from his moving submarine to rescue a downed aviator under heavy enemy fire. At the end of World War ll, Lieutenant Laboon left the Navy to become a Jesuit priest. In 1958, Father Laboon returned to the Navy he loved as a member of the Chaplain Corps. Over the next 21 years, he served in virtually every branch of the Navy and Marine Corps. His assignments included tours in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and Vietnam. As a Chaplain with the Marines in Vietnam, Father Laboon earned a Legion of Merit with Combat In addition to his heroic service in two wars, Father Laboon became the first chaplain for the Polaris Submarine Program and later became the Senior Chaplain at the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy has honored Father Laboon by renaming the Chaplains Center in his honor. When he retired in 1979, Captain Laboon was the Fleet Chaplain, Atlantic Fleet. After his retirement, Father Laboon returned to Annapolis as the house manager of the Jesuit retreat facility, Manresa-on-Severn. His final tour of duty was as pastor of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church in Woodstock, Maryland. Upon his passing in 1988, Father Jake left behind countless service members and their families whose lives he had touched with compassion and understanding. His courage and genuine interest -81 concern for all his shipmates was then, is now, and will forever remain an extraordinary example for Sailors and Marines everywhere. It ifindecd an honor for DDG 58 to be named for such an outstanding Naval hero. l 56- g ..-

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LAB 655 004, its A 1' 0 4 Pi J' Duc 59 All Steel Hull 8L Superstructure Construction Keel Laid 23 MAR 1992 Christened 20 FEB 1993 Commissioned 18 MAR 1995 Displacement 8400 Tons Length 505 FT Beam 66 FT Draft 32.5 FT Speed 30+ Kts Propuls1onfElectr1c1ty 4 LM2500 Gas Turbine Engines 100,000 Shaft Horsepower 2 Controllable Pitch Propellers 3 Allison 501-K34 Gas Turbine Generators C2500 Kilowatts eachl Armament MK41 Vertical Launching System 5 54CAL Gun Mount MK15 Phalanx Weapon System Harpoon Weapon System Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes Crew 26 Officers 20 Chief Petty Gfficers 220 Enlisted Ml Lf