DESTROYER Ex-Navy secretary witnesses namesake ship's christening

The former official had served under eight presidents.
BATH, Maine (AP) -- A 97-year-old former Navy secretary and chief arms control adviser in the Reagan administration was on hand Saturday as a warship bearing his name was christened.
Paul H. Nitze smiled broadly from his wheelchair as his wife swung a champagne bottle against the destroyer's bow to the cheers of hundreds of onlookers. A band then broke into "Anchors Aweigh" and red, white and blue streamers and confetti shot into the air.
The event marked only the eighth time in U.S. Navy history that a warship was named for a living person. The last time that happened was when retired Adm. Arleigh Burke participated in a launching in 1989.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, recalled Nitze's career as a Navy secretary who improved sailors' lives, a high-ranking defense official during the Cuban missile crisis and a hard-nosed arms negotiator.
Honoree's background
Nitze, who served under eight presidents, was one of the architects of the U.S. policy of containment of the Soviet threat, she said.
"The Cold War was unlike any other war in history," Collins said. "The policy crafted by Secretary Nitze worked. Freedom won. Communism lost."
Nitze's wife, Elisabeth "Leezee" Porter, said her husband was surprised when former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig announced a guided missile destroyer would be named for Nitze.
"He knew that it was unusual to name a ship for a living American and he was really thrilled," she said.
Nitze served as Navy secretary from 1963-67 and as an arms negotiator during the 1969-73 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Later, he opposed ratification of SALT II over concerns of Soviet rearmament. He was President Reagan's chief negotiator for intermediate range nuclear missiles and later became special adviser to the president and secretary of state.
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