Destroyer christened in Pascagoula

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, William P. Lawrence, DDG-110, was christened during a ceremony Saturday at the Northrop Grumman shipyard. The ceremony attracted about 1,000 people, including Navy dignitaries and former prisoners of war. Ross Perot spoke at the event. The ship is the 60th destroyer in the Arleigh Burke class, and the 28th built in Pascagoula. The 9,200-ton, 509-foot destroyer has four gas turbine engines. The ship commemorates Navy Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, a Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and served as the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1978-83. (Sources: WLOX-TV, 04/17/10, Mississippi Press, 04/18/10)