Saturday is the christening of AmericaÂ’s next aircraft carrier. President George W. Bush will be on hand for the event, which will have special meaning for him and his family. You see, the ship will be named for the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, his father.

President Bush will join his parents at Saturday's christening of the nation's newest aircraft carrier, named for his father, at shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News.

The carrier, CVN-77, is called the George H.W. Bush, after the country's 41st president.

President Bush will participate in the ceremony, said Blair Jones, a White House spokesman.

"This is a tremendous honor for the president's father, and he's looking forward to the christening," Jones said Monday.

The elder Bush's daughter, Doro Bush Koch, the ship's sponsor, will break the traditional bottle of sparkling wine on the flattop's bow.

Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector began construction of the approximately $6 billion nuclear-powered ship in 2001 and plans to deliver it to the Navy in late 2008.

It is the last of 10 Nimitz-class carriers and includes technology and improved features that will serve as a bridge to the Navy's next-generation carrier, the CVN-21, now under design and planning at Newport News.

A well-deserved honor for a man whose life has been devoted to public service.

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