NORFOLK, Va. — The U.S. Navy welcomed its newest guided-missile destroyer to the fleet on April 11 at Naval Station Norfolk, marking a moment 61 years in the making.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr., honors retired Marine Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr., an 85-year-old Reedville, Virginia, native and Medal of Honor recipient.
On Dec. 18, 1965, then-1st Lt. Barnum assumed command of a group of vastly outnumbered Marines in Vietnam…