Keel Laying Ceremony - September 6, 2003

Northrop Grumman Newport News hosted a keel laying ceremony on September 6, 2003 for the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Former President Bush served as the keel authenticator and keynote speaker for the ceremony. Former First Lady Barbara Bush also attended with their daugter, Doro Bush Koch, the ship's sponsor.

Northrop Grumman Newport News welder Mike Eaton welds the former president's initials onto a metal plate, which will be permanently affixed to the carrier. Pictured from left are the ship's sponsor Doro Bush Koch, Former First Lady Barbara Bush, Former President Bush and welder Mike Eaton.

Pictured from left: Doro Bush Koch, President George H.W. Bush, and Northrop Grumman Newport News welder Mike Eaton show the authentication plate to the audience after Eaton welded President Bush's initials into the steel.

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A highlight of the George H. W. Bush keel laying ceremony included a performance by the U.S. Navy Parachute Team, the Leap Frogs. The team is a 15-member unit comprised of parachuting experts from various specialties within the U.S. Navy. Those specialties include U.S. Navy SEAL (SEa, Air and Land) and SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman) commandos. Each member comes to the NPT for a three-year tour and returns to an operational unit upon completion of their time on the team.

In 1944 while flying from an aircraft carrier on a bombing mission against a Japanese radio station on Chichi Jima, the torpedo bomber of LTJG George Bush was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Despite a flaming engine, he continued his dive to score a direct hit before being forced to bail-out over water where he was picked up by a submarine and subsequently returned to his squadron to fly additional combat missions. Both of his crewmen failed to survive.

The keel laying ceremony concluded with a flyover by a Grumman Avenger, the same kind of plane flown by the former president when we was a U.S. naval aviator.