WASHINGTON (AP)
Sen. Jon Tester is asking the Navy to name one of its vessels after Montana for the first time. There's never been a USS Montana, Tester says, even though there have been six USS New Yorks, four USS Alaskas and three USS South Dakotas. "Despite being a landlocked state, thousands of Montanans have served in the Navy and Marines during times of conflict," Tester said in a letter to Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter. A USS Montana was planned in World War II, according to Tester, but construction was canceled in 1943. Tester, D-Mont., requested that the Navy use the name for a submarine scheduled for delivery in April 2011. The Navy hasn't totally ignored Montana, however. There is a USS Helena based in California and there was a USS Missoula in the early 1900s. Montana isn't the only state hoping that a Navy vessel will bear its name. North Dakota's congressional delegation asked the Navy earlier this year to name a new submar ine USS No r t h Dakota.
