The U.S. Navy named an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer after a senator who served on behalf of Georgia for over 20 years. USS Sam Nunn or DDG 133 will be a 509-foot-long destroyer designed to travel at speeds over 30 knots, the service branch said Monday.
Nunn, the ship’s namesake, contributed a year of active duty service to the U.S. Coast Guard and remained a reservist for eight years before his appointment as congressman in 1968. He aided the drafting of national security legislation including the Department of Defense Reorganization Act. Huntington Ingalls Industries will build USS Sam Nunn in Pascagoula, Miss.