# The U.S.S Ronald Reagan **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981 "2003-07-12T16:03:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![InLikeFlynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f19dbf/32.png) [@InLikeFlynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InLikeFlynn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/1 "2003-07-12T16:03:40Z")
Besides the \*\* U.S.S. Ronald Reagan\*\*, has the United States Navy named any of it’s other ships after a living person? If not, then if poor Ronnie hadn’t contracted Alzheimer’s disease would they have still honored him in this way or would they have waited until he went to the great big White House in the sky? It seems kind of eerie and just plain wrong to me. It’s got all the makings of a cursed ship (If you believe in that kind of thing!!) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/2 "2003-07-12T16:21:48Z")
The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, (named after a living congressman who had been helpful to the navy while in office) comes to mind, since it was controversial. Since there were 800 navy ships in WWII, and umpteen liberty ships on top of that, it’s probably a safe bet some of them were named after lining persons, too. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/3 "2003-07-12T16:31:10Z")
_Sigh_ I think that you can safely say that Ronald Reagan died several years ago. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/4 "2003-07-12T16:57:28Z")
I got the ship’s nickname: “The Great Communicator” As in, “ya’ got the message punk?” ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/5 "2003-07-12T17:38:49Z")
[The first ship named for a living person was USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in 1975. Other ships named for living people include: USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300) USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23)]([http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/names.htm](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/names.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![Publius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Publius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Publius)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/6 "2003-07-12T17:45:48Z")
CVN 77 is going to be named after [George H. W. Bush.](http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/bush/naming.txt) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/7 "2003-07-12T17:58:39Z")
I saw bits and pieces of the ceremony…did they forget to christen the ship with champagne? ---
**Author:** ![NameAlreadyTaken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/97f17d/32.png) [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/8 "2003-07-12T18:15:53Z")
I believe the USS Ronald Reagan was actually christened by Nancy Reagan on March 4th before the builder’s trials. I can’t find a good link to an article on it, but I did find one that lets you buy the program from the event: [http://www.politicalamericana.com/ussronreagch.html](http://www.politicalamericana.com/ussronreagch.html). ---
**Author:** ![InLikeFlynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f19dbf/32.png) [@InLikeFlynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InLikeFlynn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/9 "2003-07-12T19:22:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*_Sigh_ > I think that you can safely say that Ronald Reagan died several years ago. > ☹ \*\* I sadly have to agree. I believe Alzheimer’s disease is among the cruelest most deplorable sicknesses one can acquire. It finally killed my grandmother after taking her from us 9 years prior to her funeral. It doesn’t even have the decency to take you out of your misery. Terrible!! Thats a first, I hijacked my own thread ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/10 "2003-07-12T19:23:03Z")
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,91754,00.html](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,91754,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/11 "2003-07-12T20:32:57Z")
Kudos to Daddy Ron and may God bless! ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/12 "2003-07-13T00:33:20Z")
It’s all political. If one believes [FAS.org](http://FAS.org), the LHD-8 amphibious dock ship is going to be named after [Trent Lott](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/lhd-1.htm). Presumably, this is because of all the cash he’s brought to Alabama, where the ship is being built. Of course, launching & commissioning is still a long time away, so time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/13 "2003-07-13T01:33:10Z")
Mississippi, not Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/14 "2003-07-13T01:36:35Z")
(oops, hit submit too soon) And the Navy calls LHD-8 [“No Name.”](http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/LHD8.htm) ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/15 "2003-07-13T05:06:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ravenman \* > \*\*Mississippi, not Alabama. \*\* Yup, looks like I fail the geography lesson for the day… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-s-ronald-reagan/187981/16 "2003-07-13T13:44:07Z")
Wasn’t the aircraft carrier John J. Stennis lauched while the ex-Senator of Mississippi was still alive? That said, while it’s still fairly unusual to name ships after the living, I don’t think there’s any rule against it. It WOULD be against rules to put a living person’s face on stamps or coins.