The USS Lyndon B Johnson was christened this morning, April 27, 2019, at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath Maine. The north gates opened at 9 AM and shuttle buses provided the transportation for us folks to travel to the south end of the shipyard where the ceremony was to take place. A steady rain had fallen overnight and into the morning , but only a foggy mist remained visible in the distance and up around the shipyard crane tops. Fortunately the ceremony went through without any rainfall. The cool breeze was another matter – coming off the Kennebec River, it was a reminder that it was still spring in Maine.
The event was not without its controversy though, as a group of protesters lined Washington Street near the north gate parking entrance. It was reported that some were arrested for impeding vehicle traffic by lying in the road but when we drove through, that was not the case. That’s what is great about America, one can voice one’s free speech rights in various ways, but in this case, lying in the road just might be pushing the envelope.
At any rate, once on BIW property, the hosts provided great service from assisting in parking in the tight confines of the North gate parking lot all the way down to the event itself. 
Brochures and ship tokens were handed out after stepping off the bus, and friendly staff helped make sure we got to the seating area. Ship hats and sweatshirts were available to purchase. If you didn’t get it there, you can probably order it from the ship’s website.
Notable BIW employees at the event included, among many, Bob D, Mark B, Louise D, and Gary S. Have a great retirement Gary (starting next week). I will also note that I had worked with these particular folks a few years ago, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. I also saw Bill C, but that was in quick passing (just too many people to stop at that point to strike up a conversation).
We sat in the green section using our blue tickets. That’s one thing about rain the previous night – some folks don’t show up. This allowed us to be 20 feet or so closer to the ceremonial tent, or whatever it is called, as compared to if we had sat in the actual light blue section based on our tickets. That’s right we did that!
And off to the side was a nice looking VIP bus, which likely held the Ship sponsors and maids/matrons of honor(LBJ’s daughters and grand-daughters), the Maine congressional delegation, some Naval brass, and a couple other speakers. They were inside while the several hundred of us Mainers braved the elements prior to the ceremony start at about 10am. The speakers eventually made their way to center stage, introduced, and made their speeches. It was actually nice to have Senator Collins, Senator King, Representative Pingree, and Representative Golden give appropriately themed speeches.
The highlight speech of course was from Lynda Johnson Robb, LBJ’s daughter, the christening sponsor. It was highly personal, as she referred to LBJ as “daddy”. Somewhere about half way through her speech, she briefly held her gift to the ship’s prospective commanding officer – a hand-sized Texas long-horned steer ( a symbolic gesture of the LBJ ranch, and as she said it wouldn’t be appropriate to have brought a full sized real one). I guess they put these things on the ship’s bridge!
And with the speeches concluded, LBJs two daughters Lynda and Luci, proceeded onto the ship and up towards the bow where they christened the ship by breaking two bottles of champagne on a white metal star which appeared to be about 3 feet in diameter and situated on a small pedestal. I believe the star represents both the state of Texas and for the silver star LBJ was awarded during World War II.
And that officially concluded the ceremony with pomp and circumstance provided by the Navy Band.
Well worth the time.