U.S.S. MICHAEL MONSOOR will be commissioned on Jan. 26 in San Diego. The destroyer is named after Michael Monsoor of Garden Grove (U.S. Navy photo).

Commissioning of the U.S.S. Michael Monsoor, a cutting-edge destroyer, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26. The nearly 18,000-ton ship is named after Micheal Monsoor, a former Garden Grove resident who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in Iraq.

MICHAEL MONSOOR (U.S. Navy).

The destroyer is the newest of the Zumwalt class, and is a high-tech craft designed to fight enemy forces in the air, land and sea.

Mrs. Sally Monsoor, Michael’s mother, will serve as sponsor at the commissioning ceremony.  He was graduated from Garden Grove High School – where he played football – in 1999, and later enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

He became a SEAL and rose to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class. While on a mission in Ramadi, Iraq on Sept. 29, 2006, he threw himself on a grenade that had been thrown at him and his companions, suffering fatal injuries but saving the lives of others.

Monsoor Stadium at GGHS is named in his honor.

The event, to be held at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, will begin at 10 a.m. and is open to the public. Tickets are required.

Contact Mike Raney at Michael.raney@navy.milfor more information.