Navy Secretary Announces USS Tulsa

A ceremony was held today to announce that one of the Navy's newest ships will be names after the City of Tulsa.

The USS Tulsa will be part of a new fleet of battle ships outfitted with the latest technology, used to fight close to the shore.

The ceremony lasted about one hour, but for veterans and active military members, it's about time.

Ray Mabus, the US Secretary of the Navy was in attendance and said, "There hasn't been a ship named after Tulsa for more than one hundred years. So it was high time that the name Tulsa returned to the fleet."

Vietnam marine veteran Steve Porter adds, "It's only eight percent of the population approximately that is the uniformed service at one point in their lives."

Officials say it's veterans like Steve Porter, and the support he's given, that made them decide on the name Tulsa. "I think for people from Tulsa, even from Oklahoma, it would be something cool to talk about when your military service is over."

Former mayor Kathy Taylor is sponsoring the ship, this event opening up a new dialogue about her father who served in World War 2. "I've got to know, really reconnect if you will with my father's history."

The ship is being built right now in Mobile, Alabama. It will most likely be christened in about a year.