USS Arthur W. Radford (DD-968) bore the name of one of America's most consequential Cold War military leaders — Admiral Arthur W. Radford, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Eisenhower from 1953 to 1957. A visionary naval aviator who fought in World War II and rose to lead all of America's armed forces during the nuclear age, Radford shaped U.S. strategy at the height of the Cold War. Her namesake Spruance-class destroyer, commissioned April 16, 1977, carried that legacy of strategic purpose and fighting readiness through nearly a quarter century of Atlantic patrols, Mediterranean deployments, and Caribbean operations. Homeported at Mayport, Florida, the crew of "Rad" served with distinction through the final decades of the Cold War and into the post-Soviet era before decommissioning on January 26, 2001.