Hi Homer,

My father served on the USS Guided Missile Cruiser Canberra. As a child I had the privilege of going on board a few times. The katana displayed on the crew mess deck particularly impressed me. The USS Canberra was the only U.S. warship to be named for a foreign place or foreign ship. She was originally named the Pittsburg, but was renamed before she was launched after the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra was sunk. When the Canberra was decommissioned her ships bell was donated to the Australian National Maritime Museum, where it is on display now.