Sailors assigned to the USS John L. Canley “bring the ship to life” during a commissioning ceremony, Feb. 17, 2024, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. The ship is named for Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2018 for his actions in 1968 during the Battle of Hue in Vietnam. (Jared Mancuso/Office of the Secretary of the Navy)

The expeditionary sea base USS John L. Canley, named in honor of a Vietnam-era Marine Corps medal of honor recipient, joined the active fleet Saturday when it was commissioned at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.

The 784-foot ship is designed to deploy troops and equipment in regions where the U.S. doesn’t have easy access to land bases and seaports, according to a Navy news release.

Among the more than 1,200 people at the ceremony were: members of the Canley family; Marines who served with John Canley; family friends; shipyard and Navy employees; and ship crew members. Also at the ceremony: Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford; Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz; Canley commanding officer Capt. Thomas Mays; and Commander, Military Sealift Command Pacific, Capt. Micah Murphy.

“It is my firm believe that USS John L. Canley will serve as an example to everyone who serves on this ship, or passes in her wake,” Del Toro said.

The ship honors Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, a U.S. Marine who distinguished himself in 1968 in Vietnam during the Battle of Huế with Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Canley was awarded the Navy Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor, 50 years after the battle, making him the first living Black Marine to receive the nation’s highest military decoration for valor. The only previous Black recipients in the Marine Corps received the medal posthumously.

On Jan. 31, 1968, with his company commander severely wounded as his unit made its way toward the besieged city of Hue in northern South Vietnam, then-Gunnery Sgt. Canley took control of Alpha Company, a job typically reserved for a commissioned officer. For the next six days, Canley would lead the 1st Marines unit as it charged into the city to pry it from the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces who had captured it during the unanticipated Tet Offensive.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, the 298th Marine Medal of Honor recipient, attends a reception after the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, Oct. 17, 2018. (Daisha R. Johnson/U.S. Marine Corps)

In the midst of one of the most ferocious fights of the Vietnam War, Canley would organize assaults on enemy positions, killing countless enemy fighters as his team retook buildings in the city, according to award citations. Twice, the noncommissioned officer braved fire to scale a wall in “full view of the enemy to pick up wounded Marines and carry them to safety.”

Canley died in 2022.

The ship is the fourth in this ESB class, joining the USS Lewis B. Puller, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams and USS Miguel Keith. The Robert E. Simanek and Hector A. Cafferata Jr. are the next scheduled ships in the class.

ESBs are highly flexible platforms that provide logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations, the Navy said. The ESB variant is designed around four core capabilities: aviation; berthing; equipment staging area; and command and control.

USS Canley will be part of the Forward Deployed Naval Force operating from Saipan, the Navy said.

“To anyone who had anything to do with the building of this ship, I say, ‘The Marines are ready to get on it, and get to it!’ ” Ruiz said.

Ship’s crew members of USS John L. Canley man the ship during the ship’s commissioning ceremony on Feb. 17, 2024, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. (Military Sealift Command Pacific)

The long glass is passed to the Chief Petty Officer of the Watch, setting the first watch of USS John. L. Canley during the ship’s Commissioning Ceremony, Feb. 17, 2024, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. (Military Sealift Command Pacific)

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro participates in the commissioning of the USS John L. Canley on Feb. 17, 2024, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. The ship is named for Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2018 for his actions in 1968 during the Battle of Hue in Vietnam. (Jared Mancuso/Office of the Secretary of the Navy)

The Navy’s newest ship, the expeditionary sea base USS John L. Canley, joined the active fleet Feb. 17, 2024, when it was commissioned at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. (U.S. Navy)

Contributing: Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein; The San Diego-Union Tribune; The Orange County Register