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Ceremony at Sea
A ceremony aboard the new USS Ronald Reagan does double duty honoring 12 veterans and remembering the sinking of the USS Lexington during the Battle of Coral Sea.
This Month in History
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage
in Warm Springs, Ga., April 12, 1945. The only man to be elected
to four terms as president of the United States, Roosevelt is
remembered for his leadership during World War II.
On Jan. 29, sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
conducted a burial at sea in conjunction with a wreath-laying
ceremony to honor veterans near the site where the USS Lexington
(CV-2) was sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of Coral Sea
during World War II.
The ashes of 11 sailors and one Marine were committed to the sea
during the ceremony, marked by a 21-gun salute and the playing of
taps. Two wreaths also were tossed into the ocean during the
ceremony, one for the USS Lexington and one for the Japanese
aircraft carrier Shoho that also was sunk during the battle.
Reagan, the Navy’s newest Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, is currently under way in the Western Pacific on
its maiden deployment.
New Destroyer
The Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer
will be named in honor of Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale
(1923-2005), the legendary leader of American POWs during the
Vietnam War.
Stockdale was the highest-ranking naval officer ever held as a POW
in North Vietnam. His plane was shot down Sept. 9, 1965, and he
spent more than seven years in captivity. He was awarded the Medal
of Honor in 1976.
The USS Stockdale will be a Flight IIA variant of the
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and will incorporate a
helicopter hangar facility into the original design.
Missileers Reunite
On Feb. 1, missileers gathered at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla., to mark the 45th anniversary of the first launch of
an Air Force Minuteman missile. About 100 people who worked on
various intercontinental ballistic missile programs at the station
during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s gathered for a reunion in Cape
Canaveral.
One of the tour stops was Complex 31, site of the first Minuteman
launch. The missile performed flawlessly, and after a flight of
4,600 miles its reentry vehicle landed within the designated impact
zone.
Over the years, three versions of Minuteman missiles were
successfully tested there, with the system ultimately going
operational and becoming a mainstay of America’s nuclear deterrent
forces. In all, 92 Minuteman I, II, and III missiles were launched
from Cape Canaveral between Feb. 1, 1961, and Dec. 15, 1970.
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