The US Navy ship USS Laboon (DDG-58) sailed into Malta’s historic Grand Harbour today for a brief port visit and to provide the crew with a few days of rest and recuperation.

In keeping with US Navy’s traditions, members of the crew have volunteered to participate in a community relations project at the Marsa Open Center and a beach clean-up at Selmun Bay during their brief stay on the island.

USS Laboon will also have the opportunity to work with the Armed Forces of Malta Air Wing and Maritime Squadron, and to provide training to both organisations.

USS Laboon belongs to the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, whose principal missions include escort operations and defense against submarine and air attacks. Laboon has a crew of 31 officers and 236 enlisted sailors and is commanded by Commander Donald J. Donegan, who assumed command of the ship in June 2009.

USS Laboon’s namesake is Captain John Francis Laboon, Jr., S.J., U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps (1921-1988).

Known as “Fra Jake,” he was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic and extraordinary actions while serving aboard the submarine USS Peto during war patrols in the Western Pacific in 1943.

Following the pick-up of a downed American pilot near the Japanese main island of Honshu, the crew was searching for the pilot’s "wingman".

The second naval aviator was soon spotted, but the water was too shallow and almost certainly mined, thereby preventing USS Peto from maneuvering closer.

To make matters worse, the crew was under intense enemy fire from a Japanese shore battery.

The Commander called for a volunteer, and without hesitation, then-Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Laboon dove off the submarine.

Swimming through the mined waters without concern for his own welfare, he rescued the pilot. This heroic act underscored the young naval officer’s character, and set the tone for the rest of his life. After the war, on 17 July 1956, Father Jake was ordained a Jesuit priest at Woodstock, Maryland.