JOHN L CANLEY ESB 6
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Naming Ceremony by SecNav Kenneth J. Braithwaite 10 November 2020 Keel Laid 16 November 2020 Keel Authentication Ceremony 30 April 2022 - Christened 25 June 2022 Launching TBD - Delivered 1 March 2023 |
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 SgtMaj John L. Canley, |
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- USS John L. Canley ESB-6 Covers Page 1 (2022-2024)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
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existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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USPS |
2024-02-17 |
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PROPOSED commissioning postmark created by Wolfgang Hechler
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Sergeant Major John L. Canley, USMC Ret. (1 February 1938 - 11 May 2022)
Canley was born in Caledonia, Arkansas. In 1953, Canley enlisted in the US Marine Corps from Little Rock, Arkansas.
On the morning of 31 January 1968, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines was loaded onto trucks and sent to reinforce United States and South Vietnamese forces under siege in Huế. As the convoy approached the southern suburbs of the city, they began to come under increased sniper fire. In one village, the troops dismounted and cleared the houses on either side of the main street before proceeding. The Marine convoy stopped several times to eliminate resistance in heavy house-to-house and street-to-street fighting before proceeding again. During this fighting the Company commander, Captain Gordon Batchellor was wounded and Gunnery Sergeant Canley assumed command of the company and he and Sergeant Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez led the Marines in the defense of the convoy, actions for which Gonzalez would later be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. At about 15:15 after bloody fighting the Marines managed to make their way toward the besieged Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) compound. Gunnery Sergeant Canley was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions.
Sergeant Major John L. Canley retired from the Marine Corps on October 23, 1981.
Representative Julia Brownley sponsored a bill in Congress for Canley's Navy Cross to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On 21 December 2017 the House of Representatives waived the 5 year time limit for the award of the Medal of Honor and the Senate later took similar action. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis recommended the upgrade to President Donald Trump, who approved the award in July 2018. On Wednesday, 17 October 2018, President Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Major John L. Canley, United States Marine Corps (Retired), for conspicuous gallantry.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Sgt.Maj. Canley earned the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon with three bronze service stars, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with seven service stars, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with one service star, the National Defense Service Medal with one service star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with nine service stars, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two service stars, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with two Silver Stars, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Ribbon, the United Nations Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. SgtMaj Canley also rated the Rifle Expert Marksmanship Badge (11 awards) and the Pistol Expert Marksmanship Badge (16 awards).
The ships sponsor is Patricia Sargent, daughter of SgtMaj John L. Canley.
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