NewsMax.com
Saturday, March 3, 2001

Dignitaries from around the country will join the former first lady at Newport News, Va., including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Sen. John Warner, Sen. George Allen, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark and acting Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Pieri Jr.

Rumors indicate that President Bush may make an unexpected visit.

The USS Reagan will be the most-advanced of the Nimitz-class carriers when it takes to sea as the Navy's pride.

The Reagan also has a uniquely designed "bulbous" bow.

The 90,000-ton nuclear-powered ship is 1,092 feet long, as long as the Empire State Building, with an enormous flight deck that will handle a crew of 6,000 and more than 80 aircraft.

Michael Reagan, son of President Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman, will also be on hand.

"I'll probably be in tears," Reagan told a local Virginia paper, "thinking how proud I am to be the son of Ronald Reagan."

"I cannot think of a greater symbol that embodies my father's vision of peace through strength than the Ronald Reagan," Reagan said.

Michael's sister Maureen will be unable to attend. She is suffering from cancer.

She will be there in spirit. "When the USS Ronald Reagan is sailing this world, I think it will put the fear of God in them," she said, referring to America's enemies.

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