USS England (DLG-22)

The second USS England (DLG/CG-22), a Leahy-class guided missile cruiser, was a ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Ensign John C. England. Originally called a "destroyer leader" or frigate, in 1975 she was re-designated a cruiser in the Navy's 1975 ship reclassification.

Ensign John Charles England was born in Harris, Mo., on 11 December 1920. He attended Pasadena City College, in Pasadena, California and was on the pep-squad there. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on 6 September 1940 and was commissioned ensign on 6 June 1941. On 3 September 1941 he reported for duty on the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and was killed three months later while saving others aboard during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

CG/DLG-22 was the second USS England. The first was USS England (DE-635), the ship that sunk six enemy submarines in 12 days in May 1944. That act caused the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest King, to declare "There’ll always be an England in the United States Navy." DE-635 was decommissioned in 1945.

To fulfill Admiral King’s promise, USS England DLG-22 was built by Todd Shipbuilding. The keel was laid on 4 October 1960, launched 6 March 1962, and commissioned on 7 December 1963. Her designation was changed in 1976 to CG-22 at Bremerton Naval Shipyard during an overhaul.

The USS England served in every major Pacific engagement from Vietnam to Desert Storm, from rescuing pilots, performing as plane guard or picket, to showing force around the globe. The USS England was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon for supporting search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Tonkin from 3 January to 6 June 1966.

The USS England was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation a final time for actions performed 2 August to 16 August 1990. As the leading Naval Warship in the region, England assumed primary shipping interdiction and air defense roles while forces were mobilized to support what would become Operation Desert Shield. She was decommissioned on 21 January 1994, mothballed in the Suisun Bay for ten years and later scrapped in 2004.