On Dec. 7, 1941, Kidd was commander of Battleship Division 1 and the senior officer present afloat during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. From the bridge of his flagship, the USS Arizona, Kidd directed the counterattack against enemy aircraft until the magazine of Arizona exploded by enemy ordnance, eventually sinking the ship. Kidd was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Regina Kidd Wolbarsht and Mary Corrinne Kidd Plumer will serve as sponsors of the ship named for their grandfather.

Two previous U.S. Navy destroyers have been named in honor of Kidd. The first ship was a Fletcher-class destroyer that was in service from 1943-1974. It is now a floating veterans' memorial and museum in Baton Rouge, La. The second, the lead ship of the Kidd-class destroyers, was also built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. It served from 1981-1998 and was sold to Taiwan in 2004 and renamed Tzuo-Ying, and given the hull number designation DDG 1803.

The newest USS Kidd is the 50th ship in the Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers. This multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of strategic maritime operations. Kidd will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously.

Cmdr. Richard E. Thomas is the ship's first commanding officer and will lead her crew of 276 officers and sailors. The 9,200-ton Kidd has an overall length of 511 feet, a waterline beam of 59 feet and a navigational draft of 33 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

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