A time honored tradition was celebrated aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58).
The great grandniece of the ship’s namesake, Capt. John Francis Laboon, was baptized on the flight deck on August 28. Capt. Laboon was awarded the Silver star during World War II.
Lt. Mark Cook, a chaplain serving on the Laboon, performed the baptism, using the ship’s bell as the baptismal font. He sprinkled a special composition of saltwater over the baby girl’s head, made up of water from every body of water the ship operated in during its most recent deployment. The child’s name, Liv Malone Laboon, was engraved on the bell.
USS Laboon returned to Naval Station Norfolk in June following a five-month deployment in the U.S. Navy’s 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.
