Lockheed Vega News

Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced on May 29 his decision to name the Navy's newest underway replenishment vessel, USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6). The name honors Amelia Mary Earhart for her courage, vision, and groundbreaking achievements, both in aviation and for women. Amelia Earhart's name became a household word in 1932 when she became the first woman -- and second person --to fly solo across the Atlantic, on the fifth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's feat, flying a Lockheed Vega from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Londonderry, Ireland. That year, she received the Distinguished Flying Cross from the Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French government, and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert Hoover.