Navy destroyer named after Bob Kerrey

LINCOLN — First a bridge and now a Navy destroyer has been named after former Nebraska governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey.

This week, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that the Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyer has been named the USS Robert Kerrey (DDG 146).

Kerrey, a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War who received the Medal of Honor, previously lent his name to a pedestrian bridge spanning the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In a Navy press release, Kerrey said he was grateful for the honor.

“My sincere thanks to President Biden, Secretary of the Navy Del Toro, and the United States Navy that gave me the opportunity to serve my country for three of the best years of my life,” Kerrey said.

Del Toro said that the naming recognized his actions in Vietnam “and his continued service to this country well beyond his Naval service.”

Kerrey, a native of Lincoln, received the Medal of Honor in 1970 — the first Navy SEAL to be so honored — for actions during a mission in March of 1969, when he led a SEAL team seeking to capture Viet Cong political leaders.

After scaling a 350-foot cliff, Kerrey was severely injured when a grenade exploded at his feet. Despite his injuries — which ultimately led to losing his lower leg — he continued to command his unit in securing an enemy camp and locating an extraction site for helicopter evacuation.

Kerrey, a Democrat, served as governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and later as U.S. Senator from 1989 to 2001. He also served on the commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks.

A political comeback failed in 2012 when he was defeated for the U.S. Senate seat he formerly held by then State Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. She just won a third term.