U.S. Navy Ship Named For Waterloo Siblings Damaged

An explosion has damaged the United States Navy destroyer named in honor of Waterloo's five Sullivan brothers.

According to U.S. Navy officials, the USS The Sullivans was performing a planned exercise off the coast of Virginia when a test missile malfunctioned and exploded shortly after being launched from the ship Saturday morning (July 18, 2015). No one was injured in the mishap.

The destroyer sustained minor damage, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said in a statement released on Wednesday. The port side of the ship was damaged.

Photos and a more-detailed story about the USS The Sullivans explosion is posted on the U.S. Naval Institute News website.

In the statement, NAVSEA officials confirmed that the ship returned to the Naval Station at Norfolk, Va., for damage assessment. They aren't sure yet what impact the mishap will have on the destroyer's schedule.

USS The Sullivans is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, which can complement 13 officers, 38 petty officers and 210 enlisted personnel. It's the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Waterloo's five Sullivan brothers -- George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert -- who were killed in action during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. The siblings were aboard the USS Juneau when a Japanese torpedo struck and sunk the cruiser on November 13, 1942.

All five Sullivans enlisted in January 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together. Their deaths are believed to be the greatest military loss by a single family in U.S. history.

Kelly Sullivan Loughren of Cedar Falls, the granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, christened the USS The Sullivans when the ship was launched from Bath, Maine, on August 12, 1995. The destroyer was commissioned on April 19, 1997, under Commander Gerard D. Roncolato. Upon commissioning, the ship was given the motto "We Stick Together", a phrase thought to be said by the Sullivan brothers when they refused to be separated during the war.