Holding a military medal dearly in a room full of U.S. Navy memorabilia, Ima Black honors her late husband.

"My husband was the first enlisted man to earn the Distinguished Service Medal," Black said.

Not only that — in 1967, Delbert D. Black was selected as master chief petty officer of the Navy, the service's highest-ranking enlisted sailor, making him the first person to hold that position.

A Navy veteran herself who served during World War II, Black can remember the moment she met her husband, a Pearl Harbor survivor. What she didn't know then was that she would travel the world with him over their 50 year marriage and that he would become master chief petty officer, meeting with other enlisted men to help create positive change.

"He would listen to their concerns and was able to bring them back to the policymakers in Washington," Black said.

Retiring from the Navy and settling in Winter Park, the couple hoped one day his name would serve as a reminder for how one man can help create so much positive change.

In 2000, Delbert Black suddenly passed away, unable to see the day when his wife helped the Navy christen a ship in his honor, the USS Delbert D. Black.

The destroyer USS Delbert D. Black launched in Pascagoula, Miss., this past weekend, just one week before Veterans Day.

"I believe my husband's spirit is anchored in the hull of that ship," Black said.