Huntington Alum Helps Rechristen USS Intrepid
Before a crowd of thousands and alongside President George Bush and his wife Laura, New York Governor David Paterson and a parade of other dignitaries, including several astronauts, 1977 Huntington High School graduate Sally Hoover Casale recently helped re-christen the USS Intrepid in Manhattan.
Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Hoover Casale joined together to complete the ribbon cutting that released a bottle officially re-christening the aircraft carrier during the rededication ceremony for the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. The ship saw action in World War II as well as Cold War-era submarine surveillance in the North Atlantic, three tours off the coast of Vietnam and as a primary recovery vessel for returning NASA astronauts.
Mrs. Hoover Casale is the granddaughter of the late Helen Smith Hoover, who was the woman that christened the Intrepid when she was launched in 1943. (Her grandfather was Admiral John Hoover, a notable figure in U.S. Navy history.) The Huntington grad is the daughter of the late U.S. Navy aviator Captain William “Bill” H. Hoover, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served as executive officer aboard the attack carrier Coral Sea during two consecutive tours of duty, earning the Bronze Star.
Throughout its impressive history, 55,000 Americans served aboard the USS Intrepid, which recently underwent a two-year refurbishing. Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Hoover Casale enjoyed hearty laughs when the bottle of champagne failed to break during the rededication ceremony. The event was attended by a crowd estimated at more than 5,000.
The event included performances by country music star John Rich and other acts, a flyover by the New York Air National Guard, a jump by the U.S. Army parachute team, a fireworks display and a speech by President Bush.
According to the most recent Huntington High School alumni directory, Mrs. Hoover Casale is employed as a corporate travel consultant with American Express Travel Related Services. She resides with her husband, Charles, in Willow Spring, North Carolina.
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