On Thursday, September 10, 2026, in a formal ceremony at General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, the keel of the future Arleigh Burke Class Flight III destroyer, USS JOHN E. KILMER (DDG 134), was authenticated. The ship Sponsor, Mrs. Linda Gilday, proudly scrolled her initials onto  a steel plate which will be welded into place to mark the ceremonial beginning of construction of this newest destroyer. The ship’s namesake was a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient and Hospital Corpsman, John E. Kilmer, who was honored for his heroic acts during the Korean War. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, on August 13, 1952, 21-year-old Corpsman John Edward Kilmer supported the Marines of Company H, 3rd Marine Battalion. He provided critical medical assistance to the Marines while under heavy fire and received a mortal shrapnel wound himself while shielding a downed Marine with his body. The Medal was awarded by Secretary of the Navy Robert Anderson to his mother, Lois Kilmer, on July 8, 1953. Five US Navy enlisted personnel received the Medal of Honor for service during the Korean War. All were Navy Hospital Corpsmen.

The keel authentication by Mrs. Gilday was preceded by a series of addresses by representatives of BIW and Naval Uniformed and Civilian leaders. Charles F. Krugh, president of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works represented the shipbuilders of BIW. Rear Adm. Matthew Case, Acting U.S. Navy Surgeon General and Acting Chief of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery honored the namesake and the men and women of the Navy Medical Corps. The keynote speaker was Mr. Neil W. T. Hogg, Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy for Management, who spoke of the welcomed planned  addition of this vessel to the Fleet.

The ship’s Sponsor, Mrs. Linda Gilday, is a former Navy engineer and program manager. Her husband, Admiral Michael Gilday, served as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations. Her selection continues the tradition of Secretaries of the Navy naming spouses of Chiefs of Naval Operations as Sponsors of major naval combatants. The Society of Sponsors is pleased  to welcome her as one of the newest lifetime members of the Society.

Article Contributed by Ann Zumwalt

Picture Courtesy of PAE Maritime