Posted on 05/29/2011 5:36:19 PM PDT by Tatze
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be named the USS John F. Kennedy.
The selection John F. Kennedy, designated CVN 79, honors the 35th President of the United States and pays tribute to his service in the Navy, in the government, and to the nation.
“President John F. Kennedy exemplified the meaning of service, not just to country, but service to all humanity,” said Mabus. “I am honored to have the opportunity to name the next aircraft carrier after this great sailor and inspirational leader, and to keep the rich tradition and history of USS John F. Kennedy sailing in the U.S. Fleet.”
Born in Brookline, Mass., May 29, 1917, Kennedy graduated from Harvard in 1940 and entered the Navy in October 1941.
During World War II, Kennedy took command of PT 109 at Tulagi Island in the Solomons with a mission to intercept Japanese ships attempting to resupply their barges in New Georgia. In the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 1943, Kennedy’s ship was inadvertently struck by an enemy ship and split in half. Over the course of the next six days, Kennedy led his crew members to safety and an eventual rescue. Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for the rescue of his crew and a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained when his ship was struck.
After his military service, Kennedy became a congressman representing the Boston area, he was elected to the Senate in 1953, and in 1961 became the youngest person to be elected president.
One previous ship, the USS John F. Kennedy, CV 67, was named in his honor and was decommissioned in 2007 after nearly 40 years of distinguished service, including Operation Desert Storm.
The USS John F. Kennedy and other Ford-class carriers will be the premier forward asset for crisis response and humanitarian relief and early decisive striking power in a major combat operation. The aircraft carrier and the carrier strike group will provide forward presence, rapid response, endurance on station, and multi-mission capability throughout its 50-year service life.
The USS John F. Kennedy will provide improved warfighting capability, quality of life improvements for sailors and reduced acquisition and life cycle costs. The ship will be constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va., a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
LOL
I would prefer America, or possibly United States. They had laid the keel for the United States in the late 40's or early 50's but later scrapped the idea. Time to make it happen.
Kennedy already had a carrier named after him - the disasterous oil burner Jimmy Carter made the Navy build.
I dislike Carter as much as anyone, but he wasn’t responsible for that one. I believe LBJ was to blame
Put me on the list for carriers to bear the names of historic ships, instead of politicians of either party.
I would start with five available names of the original six frigates:
United States
President
Congress
Chesapeake
Constellation
And then I would go with other historic names like:
Bon Homme Richard
Enterprise
Essex
Independence
Lexington
Yorktown
Kearsarge
With the exception of George Washington, the other founders, and Abraham Lincoln, I would prohibit the naming of vessels after politicians, period.
Put me on the list for carriers to bear the names of historic ships, instead of politicians of either party.
I would start with five available names of the original six frigates:
United States
President
Congress
Chesapeake
Constellation
And then I would go with other historic names like:
Bon Homme Richard
Enterprise
Essex
Independence
Lexington
Yorktown
Kearsarge
With the exception of George Washington, the other founders, and Abraham Lincoln, I would prohibit the naming of vessels after politicians, period.
Oops, sorry for the double post.
Updated information on USS United States...Swayed by limited funds and bitter opposition from the United States Army and Air Force, Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson announced the cancellation on 23 April 1949 — five days after the ship's keel was laid down.
Yup, It's time to build the USS United States...Certainly should be built before another JFK is built. Looks like we're probably gonna get more Democrat carriers, if you ask me....FDR II, LBJ, Clintoon, etc.
As far as his service is concerned, he seemed embarrassed by all of the attention it garnered. He once told a class of students that "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
John F Kennedy did not earn the Navy Cross. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. It is a medal awarded to Navy or Marine Corps personnel who distinguish themselves by heroism not involving combat. In precedence, it is an award above the Bronze Star.
His brother Joe earned the Navy Cross posthumously.
Thank you - I was not aware that the JFK had been decommissioned.
It’s the 2nd carrier named JFK. The other was CV-67
Yeah, I did. I lived through all the hero worship of JFK when I was younger. And the mark of that man is the Cubans he left to die at the Bay of Pigs, the President of Viet Nam he let be removed [and who was subsequently murdered], the Attorney General he put in office who ran more illegal wiretaps than anyone in history, and the Cuban missile crisis he didn’t really win.
Did he save a man’s life after his PT boat was lost through his own misfeasance? Yes, he did. Would he have had to if he had done what was ordered? Most probably not.
JFK was the first political leader we elected who was pure form over meaningful substance. He was a deeply flawed human being AND political leader.And I didn’t read that stuff in the “National Inquirer”. I read it in books. You can look it up.
Armor. U.S Army. Tours on the DMZ in Korea [3/23 Inf.], Viet Nam [MACV]. How about you?
I had actually forgotten that.
It had a lot of problems the years I was on it.
Your lantern may need recharging.
Hummm I thought the trade off was that they removed the missles in Cuba and we did the same in Turkey. No nukes were in Cuba. (AFAIK)
delieverd mail to the Coral Sea in 1980 and delivered BEEER to the Nimitz in 1980, too, and both of them are still afloat...I think
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
USS Coral Sea (CV-43) decom 1990 ...scrapping completed 2000
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) to be homeported NAVSTA EVERETT WA DEC 2011
Or at the very least, not until they have been dead for 50 years or so.
I have to agree with you. Being from MA, even the republicans here have to agree that he and Joe Jr had balls. Even Bobby was a tough little bastard.
Their politics sucked. But as far as being “men” in an historical sense, they fit the bill. And compared to the woosies we have running the country today—on both sides (with a few exceptions) they would be wiped from their feet as they walked into a bar.
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