GEORGE M NEAL DDG 131
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 Richard V. Spencer 26 March 2019 First Steel Cut Ceremony 2 December 2021 Keel Authentication Ceremony 14 December 2023 - Launched TBD |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS George M. Neal DDG-131 Covers Page 1 (DATE RANGE)
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.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
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 |
2019-03-26 |
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N/A |
Naming Ceremony. Cachet by Dennis W. Gill
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class George Milton Neal, USN.
Neal served with a U.S. Navy helicopter rescue unit embarked on the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney during the Korean War. On July 3, 1951, Neal and pilot Lt. j.g. John Keolsch attempted to rescue Marine Corps Captain James Wilkins, who had crashed near Yondong, North Korea after his fighter was hit by antiaircraft fire.
Keolsch and Neal located Wilkins and under increased enemy fire lowered the rescue sling. However, the helicopter was soon disabled and crashed. For nine days, Neal assisted Keolsch and Wilkins in evading enemy forces. However, the three men were ultimately captured and held as prisoners of war. Keolsch died in captivity, but Wilkins and Neal were released and returned to the United States with more than 320 fellow POWs in 1952.
For his extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations, Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class George Milton Neal was presented with the Navy Cross.
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