Three years after the start of fabrication of a U.S. Navy destroyer, Bath Iron Works achieved the next construction milestone last week when it laid the ship’s keel.
The USS John E. Kilmer (DDG 134) will be the shipyard’s 45th Arleigh Burke-class warship.
Ceremonies were led by Charles Krugh, BIW’s president.
A business unit of Virginia-based defense contractor General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Bath Iron Works is headquartered and has its main facility in Bath. It has 6,600 employees.
Medal of Honor
The U.S. Navy named the ship in honor of a Navy hospital corpsman who received the Medal of Honor posthumously during the Korean War. Kilmer exposed himself to enemy fire while treating injured Marines during fighting at the Battle of Bunker Hill on Aug. 12, 1952.
Even after being hit by mortar fragments, he moved to provide aid to an injured Marine. When an explosion erupted nearby, he threw himself over his patient to protect him, absorbing the deadly blast and shrapnel himself.
The ship’s sponsor is Linda Gilday, wife of retired Adm. Michael Gilday, former Chief of Naval Operations. Gilday was assisted by Douglas Sinclair, a BIW welder with 19 years’ experience, as she scribed her initials on the keel plate that will become part of the ship.
In addition to John E. Kilmer, BIW has under construction Flight III destroyers Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), William Charette (DDG 130), Quentin Walsh (DDG 132), Richard G. Lugar (DDG 136), J. William Middendorf (DDG 138) and Thomas G. Kelley (DDG 140).
