The Reuben James (DD245) of the song was about the first of three ships bearing the name of a ninteenth century Bosun's Mate who served on the USS Constitution. She was an already aging (commissioned in 1920) four-stack vessel suited mostly for patrol duty in the age of increasingly fast U-boats.

After the sinking of the original, a second destroyer (DE153) was commissioned as the Reuben James in 1943 and served until decommissioning in 1947.

The current Reuben James is a guided missile "fast" frigate (FFG57). She was commissioned in 1985 and has served in several conflicts since that date (including a stint as a movie star in "The Hunt For Red October).