Namesake:
"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 service to 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 (SS 265), then
Lieutenant Junior grade Laboon won the Silver Star for bravery
for diving from his moving submarine to rescue a downed aviator
under heavy enemy fire. At the close of World War II, 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 "V".
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 Catholic Chaplain at the
Naval Academy. The Naval Academy has honored Father Laboon by
renaming the Chaplain's Center in his honor. When he retired in
1979, Captain Laboon was the Fleet Chaplain, Atlantic Fleet.
When his naval career ended, 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.
When he passed away in 1988, Father Jake left behind
countless service members and their families whose lives he had
touched with his compassion and understanding. His courage and
genuine interest and concern for all his shipmates was then, is
now, and will forever remain an extraordinary example for young
sailors and marines everywhere. It is indeed an honor for DDG 58
to be named for such an outstanding naval hero.
Special thanks to John Mulcahy for supplying above
information. |
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