The Arleigh-Burke class destroyer Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129) honors the Alabama war hero and former U.S. senator of the same name. Born in Mobile, Denton was a rear admiral and naval aviator in the U.S. Navy who was taken captive during the Vietnam War.
Denton was taken prisoner after the A-6 Intruder he was piloting was shot down in 1965. At the time, he was leading a bombing mission of 28 aircraft over North Vietnam off the USS Independence (CV-62) in the South China Sea. He was forced to eject from the plane and was quickly captured by enemy forces.
Taken to North Vietnam, Denton spent nearly eight years as a prisoner of war (POW) in grueling conditions, four years of which were spent in solitary confinement. As one of the earliest high-ranking officers to be taken prisoner during the war, Denton was forced by his captors to participate in a 1966 televised propaganda interview, which was broadcast across the U.S. While answering questions and feigning trouble with the blinding television lights, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse code, spelling the word T-O-R-T-U-R-E. It was the first confirmation that U.S. Naval Intelligence had of American POWs being tortured.
In 1973, Denton became one of the first American POWs released by Hanoi. While a prisoner, he was promoted to the rank of captain. Denton was later awarded the Navy Cross and other decorations for his heroism during the time he was a prisoner of war. He retired from the Navy in 1977 as a rear admiral.
In 1980, Denton ran as a Republican for a Senate seat for Alabama and became the first retired Navy admiral elected to the United States Senate.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is the 79th overall ship for the class and the fourth ship of the Flight III series. Denton’s two daughters – Madeline Denton Doak and Mary Denton Lewis – are co-sponsors of the ship.