--- title: "We salute the USS Chung-Hoon for flying its battle flag on the way back to port" description: "Less than a month after running afoul of a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait, the USS Chung-Hoon pulled into port flying its battle flag." date: "2023-06-29" modified: "2023-06-29" authors: - name: "Jared Keller" job_title: "Former Managing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-uss-chung-hoon-battle-flag/" categories: - "Culture" tags: - "battle flag" --- # We salute the USS Chung-Hoon for flying its battle flag on the way back to port ![navy uss chung-hoon battle flag]() *(Twitter/U.S. Navy)* Less than a month after running afoul of a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Chung-Hoon pulled into port with its battle flag flying high. The Chung-Hoon — named for the legendary late Rear Adm. Gordon Paiʻea Chung-Hoon, a Navy Cross and Silver Star recipient and the Navy’s first Asian-American flag officer — arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 21 with its distinctive bright blue battle flag flapping from its mast. https://twitter.com/eric_coffman_/status/1671717700400463873 ![uss chung-hoon crest]() *The USS Chung-Hoon's crest. (U.S. Navy)* While the details of the battle flag are hard to make out in photos of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, it consists of the ship’s crest of Hawaiian warrior helmet and anchor wrapped in palm wreaths against a light blue background, the details of which are [available]() on the Navy’s informational page on the ship. The helmet is meant as a reference to Chung-Hoon’s birthplace of Hawaii and “emphasizes the fighting spirit” of the ship, [according]() to the Navy, while the anchor is meant to commemorate Chung-Hoon’s distinguished Navy career. Meanwhile, the palm wreaths “symbolize victory and the triumph of the human spirit,” and emblazoned under the ship’s crest is the ship’s motto of ‘Imua e na Koa Kai,’ which translates from Hawaiian to ‘Go Forward Sea Warriors.’ ![USS Chung-Hoon RIMPAC 2020]() *The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) conducts a Mk 45 five-inch gun live fire during Rim of the Pacific 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Devin M. Langer)* The battle flag’s emphasis on the Chung-Hoon’s namesake is deeply appropriate given the late rear admiral’s legacy. As commander of the destroyer USS Sigsbee in the Pacific during World War II, Chung-Hoon received the Navy Cross and Silver Star for “conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism” during a kamikaze attack on his vessel, during which Chung-Hoon maintained “prolonged and effective fire” on incoming Japanese aircraft to provide a screen to a U.S. aircraft carrier strike force despite extensive damage to his own vessel. The Chung-Hoon’s battle flag has been featured in [many]() [past]() [photos]() of the destroyer in action over the last several years. Indeed, the [flag was flying]() proudly during the destroyer’s most recent travels in the South China Sea alongside the Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal which [precipitated]() its run-in with a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel in early June. https://twitter.com/ianellisjones/status/1665016417412960258 While the incident with China didn’t result in anything more than some heightened heart rates on both sides of the Pacific, it’s certainly a testament to that “fighting spirit” embodied in the Chung-Hoon’s battle flag. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **The Navy is offering up to $75,000 in** [**enlistment bonuses**]() **to get more sailors** - **No, military helicopters are** [**not invading California**]() - [**No ‘golden hour’?**]() **How Army medicine is changing for the next war** - **Army** [**fires former 5th SFAB commander**]() **following investigation** - **Russia’s antique tanks are finding a** [**second life**]() **as VBIEDs** ## Author Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() [LinkedIn]() [Instagram]()