Free Republic

Photos at link. With slick sides and sharp angles, the Michael Monsoor and its sister ship Zumwalt cut a distinct silhouette along the waters of San Diego. Unlike a nearby aircraft carrier whose radar juts into the air, the Monsoor’s composite material deckhouse is polygonal and covered with material that can absorb radar waves and increase the destroyer’s stealthiness. Its “tumblehome” hull looks like something you’d see on a ship built before World War I. Make no mistake, the Monsoor guided-missile destroyer — named after Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who grew up in Garden Grove and died in 2006...

BATH, Maine (AP) — The mother of a fallen Navy SEAL christened the second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer Saturday in honor of her son, who died in Iraq when he threw himself on an insurgent's grenade to save the lives of two fellow SEALS. The 610-foot, 15,000-ton ship, built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for the U.S. Navy, was named for Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor. The 25-year-old California native died in 2006 and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. "May God bless this ship, and all who sail within her," said Sally Monsoor before smashing a...