Not many Azle High School students can say their last name is forever etched on a U.S. Navy ship — but 15-year-old Emily Cafferata can.
In a two-day ceremony March 6-7, Cafferata joined her aunt, Jessica, and her great-aunt, Heather, to take part in the christening ceremony of a U.S. Navy ship at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California. In honor of her great-grandfather, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Pvt. Hector A. Cafferata Jr., the ship now officially bears his name, marking the near completion of the vessel’s construction.
“As they build these Naval ships, they name them after various American heroes,” Jessica Cafferata told The Azle News. “Sometimes they're senators. Sometimes there are military personnel. Sometimes they’re civil rights activists … Prior to 2023, somebody threw out my grandpa Hector’s name, and (Navy) Secretary (Carlos) Del Toro agreed that he was the right person for this particular ship to be named after.”
