Launching of the Ford

Interestingly, USS Gerald R. Ford became one of the few US ships to be named after a living person when Donald Rumsfeld a former United States Secretary of Defense told the media on 3 January 2007 that he had personally conveyed the news of the honor to Ford, a few weeks before his death. Eventually, the ship was officially named CVN-78 USS Gerald R. Ford. on 16 January 2007 by Donald Winter a navy secretary, with Susan Ford daughter of Gerald Ford being named the sponsor of the ship. The air of doubt and fear from the minds of the government officials and everyone associated with this ambitious project got cleared on November 2013, when the magnificent ship saw the initiation of its successful trials after being launched into the James River located in Virginia from a dry dock. The whole nation was confident of the ship coming handy during naval operations.