Keel Ceremony for Delbert D. Black at Ingalls Shipbuilding

To date, Ingalls Shipbuilding has delivered 28 DDG 51 destroyers to the Navy. Five more are currently under construction with one of them being the Delbert D. Black, named for the First Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy and sponsored by his wife Ima Black. News 25’s Kristen Durand was there as Mrs. Black signed the keel plate, authenticating the laying of the keel.
Ima Black, along with co-sponsor Earnest Wiley, traces her initials to the keel plate, verifying the keel has been properly laid on the ship she’s sponsoring, the Delbert D. Black.
DDG-119 is named in honor of her husband, Delbert D. Black, who laid the foundation for the Office of Master Chief Petty Officers for the United States Navy. He was the first one. He was a gunner’s mate early in his naval career and was assigned to the USS Maryland during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was married to Ima for 50 years until he passed away in 2000. “It’s too bad, you know, that he’s not here to receive the honors instead of me,” said Ima, “I wish he were but my thoughts are with him. I know in spirit he was here with me today. I feel his presence.”
After completion, the multi-mission ship will conduct a variety of operations and is capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles. It’s also equipped with a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Brian Cuccias said, “The keel laying is really kind of the start of heart of the ship. It’s kind of the backbone of the ship, so we like to celebrate it. It’s kind of the first visual that it’s really coming together.”
The Delbert D. Black will be under construction for more than a year before it is ready for the next milestone, the christening.