On May 27, 1967, nine‑year‑old Caroline Kennedy christened the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Newport News, Virginia, striking a bottle of champagne against the bow before a crowd of thousands. The ceremony honored her late father and brought together her mother Jacqueline Kennedy, her brother John Jr., President Lyndon B. Johnson, and shipyard president D.A. Holden for one of the most memorable naval launchings of the decade. Built as the last conventionally powered U.S. aircraft carrier, the Kennedy embodied the Navy’s standard Cold War-era hull and underwater protection systems, reflecting the proven engineering practices of her class rather than any classified or experimental structural design.
