Aircraft Carrier Names

self | November 19, 2001 | Jim Noble

[Jim Noble]

Question for someone more knowledgeable than I:

When did aircraft carriers stop being named after battles (Saratoga, Lexington) and start being named after minor politicians (Stennis, Vinson)?

This question came up in dinner conversation last night, and I haven't been able to find anyone who knows. Thanks.

[catpuppy]

Valid point, Jim, about congressmen perhaps not belonging on the list with Lexington, Saratoga and Coral Sea. I guess the other side would argue that without Vinson we might all be speaking German or Japanese. Or at a minimum, there probably would not have been built U.S. Navy ships worthy of the great names you list.

As for your comment regarding JFK, I agree. Those who list him among the great presidents come up short when listing his accomplishments which were few indeed and which illustrate mediocrity rather than merit, even when his considerable failures are ignored.

[dread78645]

USS Tinosa SSN 606

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

I will agree with you that Carl Vinson was a strong pro-Defense Congressman- but so were a whole LOT of others over the life of this Republic. My point was that, once you start naming everything in sight for politicians, there is no end to it. A prime example is the insult the Navy took when a nuclear submarine was named for Jimmy "the Wimp" Carter!

I also don't think that JFK was a "great" President by any measure- he was a very good public speaker, nice personality- perhaps he should have gone into talk radio, or hosted a TV game show...

But I lived through his failed Presidency, and served in the war that he left as his "legacy", and I hate to see ANYTHING named for this over-rated playboy.

But when you start naming things after politicians, you get the JIMMY CARTER and the JOHN F. KENNEDY, along with the ones that we might like to see memorialized. (See how neatly I tied these two topics together???

[catpuppy]

Vinson was without equal. But I certainly agree with your point that the honoring of one worthy politician inevitably leads to the same honor being accorded those who are less or even not deserving.

[teckie]

CV 41 USS Midway

[Fulbright]

He provided leadership, vision and hope to the world.

A strong leader can do a lot in three years.

[The Squid]

A good friend and former student of mine is a member of the PRECOM crew, if you have any problems getting your USS RONALD REAGAN gear let me know and I'll get with my "hookup" (a Navy term near and dear to my heart, and in this case a good friend and shipmate) and make sure you get what you need.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

"A strong leader can do a lot in three years."

Yes, Kennedy certainly DID a lot in his "Thousand Days", didn't he?

He did a LOT of actresses, gangster's girlfriends, and Soviet spies.

He DID a lot of drugs (of course, they were just pain relievers for his bad back- which may even have been true. But we had a seriously drug-addled President, anyway)

He did a LOT of damage to this country, by getting us heavily involved in a no-win war in SouthEast Asia.

He did a LOT to bring us close to nuclear annihilation- he was clueless about Soviet missiles in Cuba until it was very nearly too late, then he played "chicken" with the lives of several billion people to redeem his mistake.

Oh yes, a first-rate President!! ROTFL

[Doctor Stochastic]

You do remember that Stennis (D-Miss) was chairman of the Armed Services Committee for many years of course. There is a NASA site named for him too (somewhere very near New Orleans.) There may even be a Bird (D-WVa) ship sometime.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

So what? I don't care what positions these politicians held- I think that naming Navy ships for politicians is a mistake. I would make an exception for really first-rate Presidents- but the list is short, and most have already been used.

And if we want to name something for that old porkmeister Byrd, how about a nice landfill somewhere? Maybe in West Virginia, if you can find a spot that he hasn't managed to have paved yet!

[onyx]

ROFLOL! I am beyond happy to see you're in such fine fiddle! Love your post #88! JFK and his wife both received amphetimine injections from the doctor they called "Feelgood." JFK, junkie president.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Realpolitik sucks doesn't. You'd think the salaries would be enough without having to name ships (and schools and particle accelerators and such) for the "public servants."

What happens when the political winds change? Do we have to change the names of the schools? Of the ships? Of the Capes? And who was Clinton P. Anderson anyway?

[Pistolshot]

The USS William Jefferson Clinton affectionately known as "the Krapper"

[Z-28]

San Diego also has the "Connie" (Constellation), and as you mentioned, the "Johnny" (John Stennis), and we will soon have the "Ronnie" (Ronald Reagan), and the Nimitz.

[Fulbright]

He DID commit the US to the moon program.

He DID set up the Peace Corps.

He DID NOT commit 125,000 troops to Vietnam and was leery of the whole deal. LBJ gets blame for the war. There will be no carriers named after him.

He DID try to get rid of Castro.

The 1950's, and a whole wonderful, innocent era in American life, ended in a horrible nightmare on November 22, 1963. The entire era since then has been a trip downhill or at best, staying level for awhile, baby.