Ship Named After Naval Academy Grad Who Died In Iraq While Protecting Marines

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A Navy ship will be named after Naval Academy graduate Travis Manion, who sacrificed his life to protect his fellow Marines nearly 18 years ago.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the news during a Friday visit to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Dubbed the USS Travis Manion, the future ship will be an LPD 33, also known as a Landing Platform and Dock. It will be the first Navy vessel named after Travis Manion, a first lieutenant and Silver Star honoree.

“The San Antonio-class amphibious ship represents the combined power of the Navy and Marine Corps team and relies on the seamless integration of Sailors and Marines working together,” Del Toro said in a press release. “Here, at his alma mater, I am proud to announce that the next San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, LPD 33, will be named USS Travis Manion, serving as a symbol of courage, bravery, and selfless service for all who follow in her wake.”

Travis Manion came from a Marine family. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004.

While on patrol in Iraq in April 2007, Travis Manion and his fellow Marines were ambushed.

“With his corpsman wounded, Manion exposed himself to enemy fire to recover the corpsman. Attacking the ambushers, Manion again moved through enemy fire to rescue another wounded Marine. With Iraqi reinforcements blocked, Manion again exposed himself to fire in attempt to find a better fighting position. He was fatally wounded by an enemy sniper,” the release said.

The Travis Manion Foundation was created in his honor. Leaders of the nonprofit, which supports veterans and empowers families of fallen service members, also attended last week's ceremony.

“The naming of this ship, the USS Travis Manion, is an incredible honor for Travis and our family, and an honor for all of those who stepped up to serve when our country called after September 11, 2001,” said retired Marine Col. Thomas Manion, who serves as the chairman emeritus of the Travis Manion Foundation. “Through the words he spoke before his final deployment, ‘If Not Me, Then Who…’, Travis left a legacy of service that lives on through the hundreds of thousands of veterans and families of the fallen across the country who share this ethos. Today, as our men and women continue to serve on the front lines, I know Travis would want this ship to be a tribute to this entire generation of veterans and a reminder to honor and remember their service and sacrifice.”

The sponsors of the USS Travis Manion will be the namesake's sister, Ryan Manion, and nieces Maggie and Honor Borek.

“I never would have thought when we lost my brother Travis in 2007 that I - alongside Travis’ nieces, Maggie and Honor - would one day serve as sponsors of a ship named after him,” said Ryan Manion, CEO of the Travis Manion Foundation. “Travis would be so proud to know that the USS Travis Manion will one day carry Marines - men and women like those he walked beside in the halls of Naval Academy and those he served beside on the battlefield. He’d also be adamant that this honor is not only about him, but about remembering the legacies of all of those who wore the uniform.”

The USS Travis Manion will be an amphibious transport dock ship that embarks, transports and lands Marines and their equipment. These ships also have a pad to land helicopters and other vertical takeoff aircraft.

Manion Hall, a student barracks at The Basic School aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, is also named in honor of Travis Manion.