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Name the USS Gerald R. Ford! Dave Eberhart, NewsMax Editor's Note: Support the USS Gerald Ford — sign our petition — Click Here Now.
Will America name its next aircraft carrier — a supercarrier that is planned to be the greatest naval ship ever built — after former President Ford? Before we delve into the answer, flash back more than three decades ago. On May 3, 1975, Ford, then the 38th president of the United States, stood dwarfed by the immense bulk of the then brand-new carrier USS Nimitz at its commissioning ceremony in Norfolk, Va. "As each of us looks upon this great ship," he said reverently, "a single thought must seize our minds: Only the United States of America can make a machine like this. There is nothing like her in the world today. We have witnessed the magic moment when an intricate mass of steel and cable and sophisticated marvels of engineering suddenly become a living thing with a unique personality."
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Ford may not have known at the time that his words were to be prophetic — that his own "unique personality" as a healing American leader would some 30 years later inspire a groundswell of support in Congress to name a great warship after him.
On a yet-unannounced date in mid-January of 2007 at a Pentagon ceremony, Secretary of the Navy Don Winter will announce the name chosen for not only the nation's newest carrier, but the namesake of a whole new class of dangerous ocean behemoths that will stalk the seas for the next half-century, protecting our shores and freedom.
Sitting on Winter's desk is a glowing congressional recommendation — a sense of Congress resolution — that the new carrier be named the USS Gerald R. Ford. But traditionally and under the law, it will be Winter's decision to make. [Editor's Note: Support the USS Gerald Ford — sign our petition — Click Here Now.]
"All inputs are given careful consideration," Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Schofield, a spokesman with Winter's office, told NewsMax. "In the end, it is the secretary of the Navy who will decide the name of CVN-78."
Reportedly, even critics of the Ford naming (some are angry that too many Republican presidents have carriers named after them) believe there is a strong likelihood that the USS Gerald R. Ford will join ranks with the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS Ronald Reagan — the last two carriers to join the fleet. For example, the USS America Carrier Veterans Association has vigorously opposed the Ford naming and has been pressing the Navy to call CVN 78 the USS America.
Indeed, there are not many willing to play the odds against the late president. In fact, Ford not only served in the Navy during World War II, he distinguished himself serving aboard one of its newly born carriers, the light carrier USS Monterey.
The Monterey earned 10 battle stars during the Pacific campaign, including the battles of Makin Island, Kwajalein, Truk, Saipan, and the Philippines.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a former secretary of the Navy and longtime friend of the late president, joined ranks this past summer with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the president pro tempore of the Senate; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the ranking minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to back an amendment to a military spending bill that endorses Ford as the namesake for the majestic warship.
Noting that he was "deeply moved by this occasion, as you can tell," Warner said at that time: "I am pleased that the Senate has approved this amendment unanimously to name the Navy's future class of air carriers in honor of a great statesman and leader, whose distinguished career of service to our nation has spanned more than six decades.
"I can think of no finer tribute to our nation's 38th president, and indeed to the United States Navy, than to add the name of a brave World War II carrier sailor to a warship that will sail the seven seas for the next half-century."
At the time of the amendment's passage, Ford telephoned Warner, and in a separate released statement, said, "I am humbled and highly honored by the action."
According to Warner, before offering the amendment, he discussed the naming with Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Although the White House has not officially declared a position, it is assumed that neither Cheney or Rumsfeld discouraged the move.
According to the Department of the Navy, the construction cost to build CVN-78 is $8.1 billion in fiscal year 2008 dollars. The Navy expects to award the construction contract in FY 2008, with an expected delivery in FY 2015.
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When Levin seconded Warner's amendment to name CVN-78 after Ford, he reminded the Senate that "it was fortuitous that it would be Jerry Ford who would become president when President Nixon resigned," and recalled the late leader's remarks on taking his oath of office in August 1974: "The oath that I have taken is the same oath that was taken by George Washington and by every president under the Constitution. But I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans. "This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."
When finally built and ready for sea, the USS Gerald R. Ford will certainly set sail into yet another troubled hour of history.
And when she does, she will be emblazoned with the name of that unique personality who bound the nation's wounds and set it back on a flank speed course for greatness.
Editor's Notes:
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