USS Shoup
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, left, smiles at USS Shoup commanding officer, Dale Tourtelotte, second right, at the Port of Saipan on Friday. Also in the photo is Office of the Governor media coordinator Ethan Kwon, center.
GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios welcomed the officers and crewmembers of the guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86), which made its first port call on Saipan Friday.
Commissioned in June 2002, the 508.5-foot Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, which joined the U.S. 7th Fleet late last year, was named after a Medal of Honor recipient, Gen. David M. Shoup, who saw action on Saipan during World War II, and served as the 22nd commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps in the early 1960s.
The governor told reporters that the CNMI will see more port calls in the future, as he reiterated his administration’s commitment to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The USS Shoup’s over 300 crewmembers will be on island until Tuesday, the governor said.
The ship’s commanding officer, CDR Dale Tourtelotte, who has been in the U.S. Navy for about eight and half years, told reporters it was his first time to be on Saipan.
The crewmembers, he said, were excited to enjoy the wonderful weather of the island.
On Saturday at American Memorial Park, the ship’s officers and crew participated in the commemoration of Veterans Day.
One of the crewmembers, Jonathan Clayton, told reporters that it was on Saipan where his mother, who worked at the Dai-ichi Hotel (now Crowne Plaza), and his father, a U.S. Navy sailor, met.
