Political Quotes

“I would like to recognize the service of the first ship named for our Nation's 35th State--our only State born of war--the armored cruiser USS West Virginia. She was commissioned on February 23, 1905, and served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. On two occasions, she deployed to Mexico to enforce U.S. diplomacy. In 1916, she was renamed the USS Huntington, in order to permit the assignment of her old name to a new battleship. That new battleship--the second USS West Virginia--was commissioned in December 1923 and affectionately nicknamed the ``Wee Vee.'' In 1940, she moved to Hawaii and became part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. She was the youngest of all the battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS West Virginia was moored outboard the USS Tennessee; as a result, the Tennessee was not hit by a single torpedo, while the West Virginia was hit by nine torpedoes. Despite being mortally wounded by shrapnel, the ship's captain, Mervyn S. Bennion, remained on the bridge ordering counterflooding of starboard compartments to prevent capsizing; for his actions, Captain Bennion posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Captain Bennion's actions are regularly cited as the epitome of proper command under fire. Displaying a resilience befitting the people of her namesake, the USS West Virginia refused to stay sunk.…”