Events honor father, daughter, those who serve

NORFOLK

Petty Officer 1st Class Leigh Ann Vaughan thought she was lucky just to have gotten an invitation to a VIP-filled luncheon Friday honoring Doro Bush Koch, daughter of former President George H.W. Bush and sponsor of the aircraft carrier bearing his name.

Vaughan, the carrier's 2007 junior sailor of the year, had a seat at the back, but she didn't stay there long.

As she finished her plate of Virginia-themed appetizers, one of the event organizers approached her to ask a favor.

"There's an empty seat at Mrs. Bush's table, and she wants a sailor," said Linda Ermen, an executive assistant with the Hampton Roads Council of the Navy League, which hosted the luncheon. "Would you like to go up there?"

By the time the main course was served, Vaughan had claimed a seat at a table with Barbara Bush.

"I was overwhelmed," she said afterward. "That's such a big honor."

The festivities surrounding today's commissioning of the new aircraft carrier kicked off with Friday's luncheon at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. Guests included the 41st president, Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim, executives from shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Corp. and a star-studded contingent of Navy admirals, including Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations.

The secretary of the Navy selects a woman to sponsor each new ship. She breaks a bottle of champagne on the ship's bow during the christening, participates in the commissioning and often maintains an ongoing relationship with the vessel and its crew.

As her gift to the ship, Koch, a mother of four who serves on the board of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, presented Capt. Kevin O'Flaherty with a set of Royal Copenhagen china and more than 400 best-selling books signed by their authors.

"The carrier's crew is excited to build upon President Bush's lifetime legacy of service to our nation, and we're going to be doing just that," O'Flaherty said. "You're going to have literally tens of thousands of sailors emulate your lifetime of service."

After Koch gave an emotional speech, her father took the podium.

"I still don't quite know what to make of the ship's namesake, but the Navy made a heck of a good decision in the ship's sponsor," Bush said.

Later Friday evening, the guests moved the celebration to Norfolk Naval Station's Vista Point for the commissioning gala. They gathered in a chandelier-lit tent on the dock for swing music, cocktails and Texas tapas, which included flautas and barbecue. Scallops and shrimp surrounded a giant ice sculpture of the carrier.

Even the ship attended, presiding over the party through a giant, clear panel at the end of the tent.

Toward the end of the evening, Roughead took the stage.

"I want to propose a toast, a very special one, to those of us who go to sea, who fly, who operate at sea on the ships," he said. "We are the best because of the young men and women who chose to put on this uniform and serve the United States Navy, and it is to them that I propose a toast.

"... To the crew!"

Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com