Ingalls DDG to be named for nurse

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who has been an advocate for increasing opportunities for women in the Navy, announced that a new Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer will be named for a trailblazing Navy nurse and the first woman awarded the Navy Cross. Mabus announced that the future DDG-123 will be named for Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee. She was among the “Sacred 20” - the first 20 women to formally serve as active members of the Navy Nurse Corps beginning in 1908. In January 1911, Higbee became the second superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps. It is the second Navy ship to bare Higbee’s name. During WWII, USS Higbee (DD-806) was the first warship named for a female member of the Navy. (Source: U.S. Naval Institute News 06/14/16) DDG-123 will be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to enter Navy service in 2024.