Commissioning
USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) departed its building yard, Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 8 August 1998, sailing into Pensacola Harbor at Naval Air Station Pensacola for commissioning activities and culminating with the main ceremony, which was held on Saturday, 15 August 1998.
U.S. Representative John P. Murtha, of Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District delivered the principal commissioning address. The Secretary of the Navy, John H. Dalton, placed the new ship in commission.
Congressman Murtha's wife, Mrs. Joyce Murtha, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, served as Ship's Sponsor for LHD-6, and christened the ship at Ingalls in May 1997. During LHD-6's commissioning, Mrs. Murtha gave the traditional order to "Man our ship and bring her to life!"
Other commissioning participants of note included Mississippi's Fifth District Representative, Congressman Gene Taylor; Admiral Donald L. Pilling, USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; Vice Admiral Patricia Tracey, USN, Chief of Naval Education & Training; and Jerry St. Pe', Senior Vice President of Litton Industries and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding.
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