[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 138 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMISSIONING OF UNITED STATES SHIP (USS) RICHARD M. McCOOL JR. (LPD-
                                  29)

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MATT GAETZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 6, 2024

  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the occasion of the 
commissioning of United States Ship (USS) Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-
29) at Allegheny Pier, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola in Pensacola, 
Florida, on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
  The USS Richard M. McCool Jr. is a 680-foot San Antonio-class 
amphibious transport dock produced by Ingalls Shipbuilding of 
Pascagoula, Mississippi, and assigned the identification of LPD-29. The 
vessel was laid down on April 12, 2019, launched on January 5, 2022, 
and christened on June 1 1, 2022. The vessel was sponsored by Shana 
McCool and Kate Oja, the granddaughters of the vessel's namesake.
  The USS Richard M. McCool Jr. is named in honor of Captain Richard 
Miles McCool Jr., United States Navy, who received the Congressional 
Medal of Honor for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life 
above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the USS 
Landing Craft Support (Large)-122 during operations from June 10-11, 
1945, against enemy Japanese forces in the Ryukyu chain during the 
Battle of Okinawa.
  The commissioning will be attended by the 78th Secretary of the Navy, 
the Honorable Carlos Del Toro; local, state, and federal elected 
officials; community and military leaders; the vessel's commanding 
officer, Captain Jeffrey Baker; and the devoted officers and crew of 
the USS Richard M. McCool Jr.
  The commissioning of the USS Richard M. McCool Jr. is the seventh 
such ceremony to be planned by the Greater Pensacola Commissioning 
Committee and the Navy League of Pensacola, led by Rear Admiral Donald 
P. Quinn, United States Navy (Retired), and it is the fifth to be held 
at NAS Pensacola. The City of Pensacola and Northwest Florida enjoy a 
strong Naval heritage and are honored to host this event.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am privileged 
to recognize the momentous occasion of the commissioning of the final 
USS Richard M. McCool Jr. at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, the 
Cradle of Naval Aviation.

                          ____________________