The city of Eastport will be paid a port visit from a Navy Destroyer during its Fourth of July celebration this year.
The U.S. Navy is planning to send the guided missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) to the city, which is home to one of three deep-water ports in Maine. Eastport also boasts the largest Independence Day celebration in the state, according to U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, who announced the port visit on Tuesday in a joint news release.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, a competitor to Maine-based Bath Iron Works, and launched in 2004.
The ship has a crew of 280 sailors and is the second Navy destroyer to be named for Admiral Forrest Percival Sherman (1896–1951), who was deputy chief of staff to the Pacific Fleet commander in World War II and ultimately Chief of Naval Operations.
Sen. King, in an Armed Service hearing last month, asked Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti to bring the ship to Maine “in an effort to focus recruitment efforts in areas lacking a military presence,” according to news release.