PEARL HARBOR — A Pearl Harbor-based destroyer is visiting Hilo for the Merrie Monarch Festival.
PEARL HARBOR — A Pearl Harbor-based destroyer is visiting Hilo for the Merrie Monarch Festival.
The Navy says the USS Chung-Hoon will arrive in Hilo on Friday. The ship and its sailors will greet the Merrie Monarch Royal Court in a ceremony at Hilo Harbor Pier 1.
Sailors will attend the hula competitions and participate with Pacific Fleet Band in the Merrie Monarch Royal Parade in downtown Hilo on Saturday.
The ship is named for Rear Admiral Gordon Paiea Chung-Hoon, the first Native Hawaiian admiral in the U.S. Navy. He was awarded the Navy Cross in 1945 after a kamikaze attack killed several members of his crew and severely damaged his ship, the USS Sigsbee.
The USS Chung-Hoon has a crew of more than 270 sailors.