A new submarine will bear the name of Louisiana native and former Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton.
Dalton, who was born in New Orleans, was the 70th secretary of the Navy, serving from 1993 to 1998.
“I couldn’t be prouder to name this future submarine after John Dalton,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro during the U.S. Naval Academy’s Submarine Officer Selectee Dinner last week.
“He served as a proud submariner and as Secretary of the Navy. He took strong and principled stands against sexual assault and harassment and oversaw the integration of female Sailors onto combat ships. The changes he drove almost 30 years ago are evident in all corners of our Navy today, with women serving on, above, and below the sea.”
The USS John H. Dalton will be a Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, The Advertiser reported. The vessels are designed to find and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships, as well as project the Navy’s power onshore with Tomahawk cruise missiles and by transporting special operations forces.
President Bill Clinton nominated Dalton, who served on two submarines before leaving active duty, to be secretary of the Navy in 1993. After leaving that post, Dalton returned to the private sector and was involved in several charitable organizations, including the White House Historical Association, Washington National Cathedral, Habitat for Humanity and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
