The U.S. Navy says it has hosted an official christening ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding on Saturday, June 28 for the USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), a Flight III Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, during a ceremony
The principal address was delivered by Dr. Brett A. Seidle, performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy. Additional speakers included Vice Adm. James P. Downey, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command; and Brian Blanchett, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding and executive vice president, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).
In a time-honored tradition, ship sponsors Madeleine Denton Doak and Mary Denton Lewis, daughters of the namesake, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
The ship is named in honor of Vietnam War veteran and U.S. Senator Jeremiah Denton, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism as a prisoner of war. Following his Naval career, Denton was elected to the Senate, representing his home state of Alabama.
Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers feature the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and incorporate upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes to provide enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet. Ted Stevens (DDG 128), George M. Neal (DDG 131), Sam Nunn (DDG 133) and Thad Cochran (DDG 135) are in production at HII.