Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the sixth U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Munro (WMSL 755).
Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said:
At this stage of construction, the NSC 6 is more complete and has better cost performance than any previous NSC.
Working together, the Ingalls and Coast Guard team continues to identify opportunities to improve our performance and provide our customer with the highest-quality ship at the lowest possible cost.
The ship is named to honor Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro. Munro died heroically on Sept. 27, 1942, on Guadalcanal. Having volunteered to evacuate a detachment of Marines who were facing annihilation by a large and unanticipated enemy force, he succeeded in safely extricating them and in doing so was mortally wounded.
For his heroic and selfless actions in the completion of this rescue mission, Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He is the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the award.
Capt. James Hurley, commanding officer, Project Resident Office, Gulf Coast, who also read Munro’s Medal of Honor citation in its entirety, said:
Courage is a foundational element of the Coast Guard, and there is no better example of courage than Douglas Munro.
The entire Coast Guard team is appreciative for the hard work and dedication of the men and women of Ingalls Shipbuilding. The Coast Guard and the nation depend on your skills to provide the ships we use to complete our many missions around the world. Thank you for your consistent improvement efforts on the NSC program. You have become better with each successive cutter.
Representing Julie Sheehan, Munro’s great-niece and the ship’s sponsor, Cuccias said the keel of Munro was “truly and fairly laid.” Sheehan’s initials were welded onto a keel plate by Ingalls structural welder Roderick P. Funches.
Ingalls has delivered four NSCs, and three more are currently under construction. In addition to Munro, the fifth NSC, James (WMSL 754) will deliver in 2015, and the seventh NSC, Kimball (WMSL 756), is scheduled to start fabrication in early 2015.
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Press release, Image: HII