The US Navy will name a new oil refueling ship after an assassinated pioneering gay rights leader who previously served as a diving officer during the Korean War, the Defense Department said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th November, 2021) The US Navy will name a new oil refueling ship after an assassinated pioneering gay rights leader who previously served as a diving officer during the Korean War, the Defense Department said on Friday.
"The Navy will christen the John Lewis-class replenishment oiler, the future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206), during a 9 a.m. PDT (Pacific Daytime, or Noon, Eastern Daylight Time) ceremony Saturday, November 6 in San Diego, California," the Defense Department said in a press release.
Harvey Milk Foundation co-founder Stuart Milk, who is Milk's nephew, will speak at the ceremony with Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Vice Adm. Jeffrey Hughes and Military Sealift Command chief Rear Adm. Michael Wettlaufer, the release said.
"Leaders like Harvey Milk taught us that diversity of backgrounds and experiences help contribute to the strength and resolve of our nation. There is no doubt that the future Sailors aboard this ship will be inspired by Milk's life and legacy," Del Toro said in the release.
Milk was elected to the San Francisco board of Supervisors in 1977 as the first openly gay elected official in California. He was assassinated on November 27, 1978. The John Lewis-class ships will recapitalize the current T-AO 187-class fleet oilers to provide underway fuel to Navy ships at sea, according to the release.
