Alfred Naifeh

Alfred Naifeh (January 5, 1915 – October 16, 1942) was a law clerk, United States Navy hero during World War II, and the namesake of the .

Early life Alfred Naifeh was born on January 5, 1915, in Covington, Tennessee, to a Lebanese immigrant family from Jdeidet Marjeyoun, Lebanon. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif, a legal honor society.

Career Following graduation, he was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association and became a member of the American Bar Association. He served as a law clerk in Oklahoma City for Alfred P. Murrah, judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the 10th Judicial District. Naifeh worked for two days and nights to locate and tend to his wounded shipmates, taking survivors to life rafts. In 1944, The United States Navy named a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort ship the USS Naifeh (DE-352) after him. His mother, Rathia Naifeh, christened the ship at Orange, Texas on February 29, 1944. The ship was commissioned on July 4, 1944. On June 27, 1946, the ship was decommissioned and became part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet in San Diego. In January 1951, the USS Naifeh was reinstated to assist in the Korean War and was used in the Pacific until her final decommissioning on June 17, 1960.

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