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.
How about the USS Constellation?
Or the Stargazer?
:)
My earlier joke notwithstanding — how about a new USS Constitution?
Enterprise, CVN-65, is still proudly serving and will continue to do so for several years to come. She is still one of the fastest carriers afloat. It would make no sense to name another one Enterprise but makes all the sense in the world to name another ship USS America II.
Get your head out of the banned!
I stand corrected.
Can't be done. USS Constitution is a commissioned US Navy vessel, affectionately known as "Old Ironsides." Yes, she is still part of the fleet.
It did happen sooner. I am not happy with this decision.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)
Kennedy’s service in World War II was certainly honorable, but getting your PT boat T-boned and sunk by a much slower Japanese destroyer is scarcely heroic.
I can understand ONE aircraft carrier named after him. He was popular with servicemen and showed significant backbone dealing with the Soviet Union — but two???
They'd have to decommission Old Ironsides first and I don't think anyone really wants to see that happen.
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A new USS AMERICA is under construction right now. It's LHA 6. We tried to get the FORD named America though.
Somebody watched "Armageddon" too many times.
Some day the Navy will name a ship after Obama. Of course it will be the Chinese navy.
You could have cut all the rest of that stuff and just agreed that JFK was a genuine hero in WWII, but I guess that you thought we needed the National Enquirer version of the story.
>>Can’t be done. USS Constitution is a commissioned US Navy vessel, affectionately known as “Old Ironsides.” Yes, she is still part of the fleet.<<
Thanks — I learn a lot here!
Do we have a Ben Franklin or T.Jefferson?
Nothing against JFK, for this purpose,but he had his namesake and there are probably a LOT of better opportunities.
Another USS Constellation would have definitely been preferable. It’s a fine old Navy name that goes back to 1794 and has graced three other fine ships.
He and Nixon both did.
I have mixed feelings about JFK. He made some bad mistakes, like the Bay of Pigs.
He and Nikita Krushchev together almost bumbled us into a nuclear war, but fortunately Kennedy had the stones to face Krushchev down to a quid pro quo (Turkish missiles for Cuban missiles).
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