U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) Wednesday announced that the U.S. Navy has agreed to name a warship in honor of Senator Richard G. Lugar. Senator Young will host a naming ceremony for the USS RICHARD G. LUGAR (DDG 136) in Indianapolis next Monday, November 18, where he will be joined by U.S. Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and members of the Lugar family at the Indiana War Memorial.
In June, Senator Young and Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that called for the Navy’s next unnamed Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer warship to be named in honor of the late Senator Lugar.
“At a time when nuclear proliferation was civilization’s greatest threat, Senator Lugar helped save the world,” said Senator Young. “It is fitting that the Navy honor Senator Lugar’s legacy by naming one of their warships after this dedicated statesman, and I look forward to joining Secretary Spencer and the Lugar family for this momentous occasion.”
Senator Lugar volunteered for the U.S. Navy and served his country as an officer from 1957-1960, including as an intelligence briefer to then Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Arleigh Burke. As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Lugar was a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons by passing and overseeing the implementation of the bipartisan Nunn-Lugar program, which deactivated more than 7,600 nuclear warheads, millions of chemical munitions, and several thousand nuclear capable missiles, and continues to perform non-proliferation missions in more than forty countries.
