Ship Sponsor and Trustee Susan Ford Bales was joined by Ford Family members, Foundation Trustees, fellow shipbuilders, U.S. Navy personnel and more than 20,000 attendees in christening the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 on November 9, 2013 at Newport News Shipbuilding. CVN 78 is the US Navy’s first ship of the next-generation class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the Ford Class. The ship is named after Gerald R. Ford, our nation’s 38th President, who also served in the US Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II on board the USS Monterey CVL 26.

Gerald R. Ford learned, just before his passing in December 2006, that the US Navy would bestow his name onto CVN 78. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld traveled to California and informed Ford of the decision and he was immensely honored. Rumsfeld was a close family friend and both the former White House Chief of Staff and US Secretary of Defense during Ford’s Administration. Following Ford’s funeral ceremonies, the official naming ceremony was held at the Pentagon and US Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter officially named CVN 78 the USS Gerald R. Ford.

View all USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 Christening photos on Flickr

78 CVN

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This