David Axford wrote:
I can't believe the US has a warship named "Ponce". I thought our old ship's names (eg Pansy and Dainty) were bad enough. Not that I'm knocking the ships or ships companies in any way. Though I suppose if the crew were all homosexuals then it would be most fitting.......
Terry (Lobby) Lowndes responded:
There is a Yank ex matelot in my small Southern town who served on the Ponce. He told me they went to England once, and on his first run ashore he wondered why everyone was laughing when he told them what the name of his ship was. Shortly afterwards the ship laid on a run ashore to the Smoke and chartered a bus to take them (the crew). By this time he understood the connotations of the word and was thoroughly disappointed when disembarking from the bus in London to find the driver had written in felt tip pen the words "USS Ponce" in the destination sign on the front of the bus.
The USS Navy ship Ponce was named after the famed Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon (pronounce: Poncey), who discovered Florida while seeking the 'fountain of youth' in 1460-1521. Apparently the British meaning of ponce is never used over in the States.