Before he was known to Alaskans as “Uncle Ted,” Ted Stevens was a decorated war hero, making dangerous missions behind enemy lines to support the Flying Tigers, a group of American pilots who fought the Japanese in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II.
Stevens represented Alaska as one of the longest-serving U.S. senators in history and is now honored by the U.S. Navy with a namesake warship.
The USS Ted Stevens is a new, state-of-the-art guided-missile destroyer.
The ship was commissioned in Whittier on Saturday, Oct. 3, drawing more than 2,000 people to the Prince William Sound town that is home to about 250 people.
Even though Whittier is a military legacy, established to support the World War II effort and defense of Alaska, the USS Ted Stevens is the first Navy warship to visit the town in 80 years, according to military officials.
But it was an appropriate spot for Saturday’s ceremony, said Capt. Mary Katey Hays, the ship’s commanding officer.
Doing the commissioning in Alaska was considered a must, Hayes said at a media briefing on Thursday, Oct. 1. And Whittier, a deepwater port and transportation hub, was chosen for its proximity to Anchorage and its abundant support facilities, she said.
Before the ship arrived in Whittier on Sept. 27, she and the other senior officials had to prepare the Norfolk, Virginia-based crew of 380 for Alaska conditions. “We had a lot of talks with the crew about bringing all of their gloves, their hats, their winter clothing,” she said.
During a tour in Whittier, officers proudly described the attributes of the ship, which measures over 500 feet in length. Those details include its 100,000-horsepower engine system, its equipment for hooking up to shoreside electrical power, its systems for receiving supplies and fuel at sea and its battery gun that can fire off 20 rounds in a minute.
And, most prominently, Stevens’ widow Catherine and two daughters, Susan Stevens Covich and Lily Stevens Becker, are “sponsors” of the ship. That means “they’re kind of like the godmothers of the ship,” Hayes said. “They help bring the ship to life.”
In her remarks to a rainy-day crowd on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski described Stevens as someone who “poured every ounce of himself into caring for his family, and for the state, and the people that he loved so much.”
Stevens, who died in a 2010 plane crash, left a big legacy in Alaska.
He played key roles in the statehood battle, approval of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and other milestones. He was known for securing billions of dollars in federal funds for projects and programs, such as the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute, the Denali Commission and transportation facilities throughout the state — a record that earned him the affectionate “Uncle Ted” nickname.
The main federal law governing fisheries, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, bears his name, as does the international airport in Anchorage.
He was also instrumental in major legislation with significance beyond Alaska, such as the Title IX antidiscrimination law, the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
After the Whittier ceremony, the USS Ted Stevens will sail to Juneau for a stop in the capital city, then return through the Panama Canal to its homeport of Norfolk.
The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization, online at Alaskabeacon.com.
