Campaign to Name Ship Taking Shape

Orange County’s congressional delegation wants a fighting ship named after the county.

The Navy’s unofficial reaction: yes, no and maybe.

“We think it appropriate that there should be a ship named for this county,” U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) said during a press conference in Santa Ana. “This is, after all, a county that has become virtually synonymous with unabashed patriotism.”

The delegation wants a Navy ship christened USS Orange County as a sort of gift for the county’s 1989 centennial. Wilson said he expects a letter from Secretary of the Navy John Lehman next week formally putting Orange County on a waiting list of names for new vessels.

A spokesman for Lehman Tuesday said at first that there is virtually no chance of a ship being named after Orange County, then said there is a “faint possibility,” then said the proposal is “feasible” and “a good idea.”

Wilson said that Orange County deserves such an honor because it has been a good host to Navy installations--Marine Corps air stations in El Toro and Tustin and a naval weapons depot in Seal Beach. He said the county also is the site of various defense industry installations.

Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) pointed out that he and Wilson are members of the two congressional armed services committees and expect that to count for something in dealings with the Navy secretary.

“I have had informal conversations (with Administration and Navy officials) . . . , and at this time there is certainly no impediment,” Badham said. “I received some rather encouraging--albeit casual, at this time--remarks when we put the letter forth to not only the White House but the secretary of the Navy.”

Identical letters to Lehman and President Ronald Reagan argued that because of Orange County’s “longstanding and warm relationship” with the Marine Corps, “it would be appropriate for an amphibious ship to be designated the USS Orange County.”

Such ships carry Marines and their equipment during amphibious landings. Information on two such ships--the Navy’s LHD amphibious assault ship and the LSD, a sort of seagoing landing-ship dock--was handed out at the press conference as an example of ships that could be named after Orange County.

Arthur Baker, special assistant to Lehman in Washington, said Tuesday in an interview that he already has answered such an appeal from local government officials in Orange County.

“The answer was: It’s a great name, we love it, but counties are used as names for ‘Landing Ships, Tank’--the old LSTs. And all the ones we’ve got have names, and we have no plans to produce any more in the foreseeable future,” Baker said.

Used in World War II

An LST is a vessel that runs up to a beach under attack and drops a ramp from its bow over which tanks and other vehicles drive onto the beach.

The Navy used LSTs extensively during World War II. It now has only 20 modern LSTs, about the size of destroyers and built between 1966 and 1972, mostly in San Diego. Two are named after California counties--San Bernardino and Fresno.

LSTs are obsolete, Baker said, because “in the future, we’re not going to bring the big ships to the beach. We’re going to run the equipment in on air-cushion vessels. It’s faster, and speed means reduction in casualties.”

Naval tradition dictates that each class of vessel has its own category from which names are drawn, Baker said.

“Submarines are named for cities--they used to be named for fish,” Baker said. “Cruisers are named for battles, and while there’s probably going to be a battle over this in Orange County, that doesn’t count.

“Destroyers are named for famous naval and Marine Corps personnel, as are frigates. The big landing ships are named for former aircraft carriers, which were named for famous ships in the early part of our history. Destroyer tenders are named for national parks, mine sweepers for human traits like ‘avenger’ and ‘virtuous,’ ballistic missile submarines for states.

‘Faint Possibility’

“There’s nothing in our building program where a county (as a name) wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb,” Baker said.

When asked about the two types of vessels suggested during Tuesday’s press conference, Baker conceded that the LSD (landing ship dock) offered “a faint possibility” as an Orange County namesake. Those, he said, are being named after historic places, and the three names selected so far are Whidbey Island, Germantown and Fort McHenry.

The LSD is a 609-foot-long, 15,814-ton-displacement, 20-knot vessel described as a “landing ship dock.” It is designed to support other landing ships. Two have been commissioned, two are under construction and four more have been ordered.

“Orange County has some possibilities for a ship of that class,” Baker said. “The problem is, we’ve named them (the first three). We’re about a year and a half from naming another.”

When told of the delegation’s request to synchronize the ship christening with the county’s 1989 centennial, Baker became less pessimistic.

“Nineteen eighty-nine? This is looking better and better,” he said. “It’s feasible. We obviously can’t make any immediate promises on that.

‘Sometimes I Change My Mind’

“I’m kind of digging myself into a hole here, aren’t I. But it’s a good idea, the more I think about it. Sometimes I even change my mind.

“For 1989, it looks better. I probably skimmed the letter (from Orange County) like I did the hundreds of others we get in here.”

The letters were signed by Orange County’s entire congressional delegation: Wilson and Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), Badham and Reps. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach) and Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad).

All but Cranston, Lungren and Packard attended Tuesday’s press conference, along with some county supervisors and representatives of the county centennial planning committee.

All were presented with Orange caps with simulated officer’s braid on the bills and “USS Orange County” lettered above.

Wilson remarked that he was certain the delegation would accept something beside the amphibious LSD or LHD as Orange County’s namesake. “As long as it’s bigger,” Dornan added.