Jack Reed: “next week, the Naval War College in Newport, RI, will host the unveiling of the keel plate for the Arleigh Burke-class…”

“next week, the Naval War College in Newport, RI, will host the unveiling of the keel plate for the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-138, which will be named for an extraordinary American and an extraordinary Rhode Islander: Ambassador J. William Middendorf. I won't be able to honor Ambassador Middendorf in person. So I would like to take this opportunity, along with my colleague Senator Whitehouse, to say a few words of appreciation for his contributions and public service. Ambassador Middendorf, who now resides in the town of Little Compton, RI, was born 99 years ago, on September 24, 1924, in Baltimore, MD. He remains a person of tremendous intellect, interests, and achievement. To this day, he continues to share his strong and always interesting opinions as a frequent contributor for the Providence Journal. I don't always agree with him, but his column always makes for a lively read, and he has been preparing an upcoming book on the way called ``On My Watch: Tyrants and Patriots.'' I would like to highlight some of Ambassador Middendorf's extensive record of achievement and patriotic accomplishments. In the 1940s, while our Nation was at war, he served in the Navy as an engineering officer and navigator aboard the landing craft support ship USS LCS-53 and earned his bachelor of naval science from the College of the Holy Cross under the Navy's V-12 Program.…”