Well I arrived in Pascagoula 9:30 PM
Thursday May31/07 , the next morning , 9:30 AM I had a
rehearsal briefing with the descendents of Thomas Truxtun
, Staff from Northrop Grumman Ship System Ingalls
Operation [ NGSS ] and Dignitaries for the Christening
Ceremony 8:30 AM June 02/07 .
I
t
was quite an experience for me to chronicle , to the
sponsors , the tragic history of the USS Truxtun DD 229 ,
February 18/42 and to delineate the heroic efforts
of people from St. Lawrence , Lawn and neighboring Towns
to rescue shipwrecked sailors .
The evening of June 01/07 , once
again , I had the honor of speaking at a formal reception
[Sponsor's Dinner ] where I presented a blanket retrieved
from the USS Truxtun DD229 by Mr. Gregory Handrigan in
1942 to Commander Tim Weber of the USS Truxtun DDG 103 .
The US Navy was honored to accept this blanket which will
be exhibited on the new Truxtun .
The
next morning , June 02/07 , was quite a royal experience ,
starting with a special guests breakfast and a full
schedule of events . I was privileged , once again
, to speak at the Christening Ceremony to approximately
1000 guests .
It is with a great measure of
humility that I acknowledge the generosity and kindred
spirit of NGSS , US Navy and People of Mississippi . I was
honored to be accompanied by Ms Tanya Drake , from St.
Lawrence who works as a naval architect with VT Halter
Marine , Pascagoula , Mississippi .
Survivors Lanier Phillips and Ed
Lewis and their family were at the Celebration , as well
as ,the daughter of D.D. Mowell [ Kathleen Scott ] .
A
few weeks ago I was invited to be a guest speaker at the
christening of the new USS Truxtun DDG 103 [ the sixth
destroyer named after Thomas Truxtun ] .
