A U.S. Navy warship named for Arkansas’ capital city was commissioned Saturday in a ceremony attended by state and city officials.
On the waterfront in Buffalo, N.Y., the new USS Little Rock was commissioned beside the original ship bearing that name, which is now a 610-foot-long floating museum.
Saturday was the first time in the Navy’s 242-year history that a ship was commissioned alongside its namesake.
Officials including Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas attended the New York ceremony, while other state and local leaders viewed it through a live-stream at the Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock.
Read Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.