KTRK-TV(GALVESTON, Texas) — The U.S. Navy has commissioned a new warship, the USS Gabrielle Giffords, in honor of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011.
In a ceremony in Galveston, Texas, on Saturday, Giffords was joined on stage by her husband, former Navy captain and retired astronaut Mark Kelly, as well as several Democratic friends including Hillary Clinton and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
“You make me proud, you make America proud,” Giffords said. “I will never forget this day or the crew of the USS Gabrielle Giffords.”
The former Arizona representative said she thought of the military in her “darkest days.”
“We ask so much of you and despite danger, you say, ‘Yes.'” she said. “You make me proud, you make America proud.”
The $475 million vessel is the Navy’s latest Independence-class littoral combat ship and will be based in San Diego, California.
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