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The reason why this U.S. Navy destroyer flies a Jolly Roger pirate flag…

The reason why this U.S. Navy destroyer flies a Jolly Roger pirate flag…
200921 n vq841 1014 everett, wash sep 21, 2020 guided missile destroyer uss kidd ddg 100 pulls into its homeport of naval station everett nse uss kidd is returning following the ship’s deployment to the us 4th fleet area of operations us navy photo by mass communication specialist 3rd class ethan sotoreleased

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ethan Soto

  • The guided missile destroyer USS Kidd was recently spotted flying a Jolly Roger flag.
  • The flag is a nod to Rear Admiral Kidd’s nickname, “Cap,” itself a reference to the notorious Captain Kidd the pirate.
  • The Navy destroyer is adorned with the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger, from the flag to steel doors.

    Keen observers spotted the guided missile destroyer USS Kidd earlier this week flying the Jolly Roger pirate flag. Not every warship can get away with flying a flag associated with piracy and lawlessness, but the USS Kidd isn’t any ordinary warship. The story, as The War Zone explains, goes all the way back to Pearl Harbor.

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    In early December 1941, Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd was the commander of Battleship Division One at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Kidd quickly went to the bridge of his flagship, USS Arizona, to take charge of his battleships. Kidd, along with 1,176 other sailors and Marines, was killed when the Arizona sank under multiple bomb and torpedo hits. His body was never found.

    Admiral Kidd, the highest ranking officer killed at Pearl Harbor, was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor citation reads:

    “…for conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Rear Admiral Kidd immediately went to the bridge and, as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the U.S.S. ARIZONA (BB-39), his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted in the loss of his life.”

    According to The War Zone, the first USS Kidd, a Fletcher-class destroyer commissioned in 1943, adopted the skull and crossbones and overall pirate theme as a play on 18th century Scottish pirate William Kidd. Admiral Kidd’s nickname at the US Naval Academy was “Cap,” a reference to the pirate Captain Kidd. The ship got the all-clear from Kidd’s widow to associate itself with both the pirate and the captain, kicking off almost 80 years of tradition.

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    Today’s USS Kidd is a guided missile destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class. The ship does regularly fly the Jolly Roger, as it did on September 21 (see above) and here, departing San Diego in June 2020:

    san diego june 10, 2020 – the guided missile destroyer uss kidd ddg 100 departs san diego following the navy's aggressive response to a covid 19 outbreak aboard the ship kidd arrived at naval base san diego april 28 to provide medical care for the crew and clean and disinfect the ship kidd is scheduled to return to the us southern command area of responsibility to continue its mission in support of southcom enhanced counter narcotics operations in the caribbean and eastern pacific us navy photo by mass communication specialist 3rd class kevin c leitner

    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin C. Leitner/DVIDS

    A quick check of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service indicates the ship typically flies the flag coming or going from U.S. naval bases on the West Coast, but doesn’t fly the flag abroad, particularly during multinational naval exercises.

    Flag aside, the skull and crossbones theme is found elsewhere on the ship. The rear of the ship’s Mk. 45 5-inch gun features the pirate flag:

    170702 n ow182 0001 waters off guam july 2, 2017 the arleigh burke class guided missile destroyer uss kidd ddg 100 transits the waters off guam kidd is currently deployed in the 7th fleet area of operations the us navy has patrolled the indo asia pacific routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional peace and security us navy photo by mass communication specialist 2nd class jacob m milhamreleased
    The rear of USS Kidd’s 5-inch gun, painted by Fire Controlman 1st Class Juan Morales.

    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob M. Milham/DVIDS

    Fire Controlman 1st Class Juan Morales, a crew member on the Kidd and a talented artist, painted the Jolly Roger. In the span of five years, Morales completed “more than 300 artistic projects for various Navy commands and ships since he enlisted [on] March 14, 2012,” according to a 2017 Navy article.

    The pirate skull and crossbones also appears on a steel door inside the Kidd, again painted by Morales:

    171116 n ow182 0050 pacific ocean nov 6, 2017 fire controlman 1st class juan morales, from orange county, calif, paints a mural on a door aboard the arleigh burke class guided missile destroyer uss kidd ddg 100 kidd is part of nimitz carrier strike group on a regularly scheduled deployment in the 7th fleet area of responsibility in support o maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts the us pacific fleet has patrolled the indo pacific routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional security, stability, and prosperity us navy photo by mass communication specialist 2nd class jacob m milhamreleased
    Fire Controlman 1st Class Juan Morales, from Orange County, Calif., paints a mural on a door aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100).

    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob M. Milham/DVIDS

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