The USS Lexington has a long and distinguished history of service to country and community. And on Saturday, a Texas historical marker dedication will add to that list.
The Nueces County Historical Commission and USS Lexington Museum on the Bay will dedicate a new state historical marker for the ship at an 11 a.m. ceremony on Feb. 17, the anniversary of the ship’s commissioning 81 years ago.
The USS Lexington that Texans know isn’t the first to carry the name. She is the fourth ship bearing the Lexington name, named for the Battle of Lexington in the Revolutionary War. The previous USS Lexington sank during World War II on May 8, 1942, a victim of Japanese torpedoes during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts – only 20 miles from Lexington, Massachusetts and the origin of the Lexington name – heard of the sinking and contacted Navy Secretary Frank Knox to encourage renaming the ship currently being built from Cabot to Lexington. He agreed and the USS Lexington CV-16 was commissioned the following year on Feb. 17, 1943, then headed to the Pacific Theater and spent 21 months in combat.