The USS Hailey (DD-556) earned six battle stars in the Pacific, but her story means something deeply personal to me—she was my grandpa’s ship.
After Pearl Harbor, enlistment lines were wrapped around the block. When my grandpa arrived to sign up, the Army and Marines were a mile long. Then he saw the Navy line—almost empty.
Despite having never seen the ocean, he stepped into that line and never looked back.
He trained in San Diego and earned a spot on the Hailey’s very first crew, becoming a proud Plank Owner—a title he cherished for life. Through long deployments and the uncertainty of war, he and his shipmates faced the Pacific with courage, grit, and brotherhood.
To honor him and the ship that shaped his life, we’ve named our flagship model after his destroyer:
The 556.