USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee

USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is an Aegis guided missile destroyer. She is named for Chief Nurse Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee. Sutcliffe Higbee was a pioneering Navy nurse who served as Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I and the first woman to be awarded the Navy Cross.

Construction

Ingalls Shipbuilding was awarded the contract for Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee in June 2013, and began fabrication of the vessel in January 2017. The ship's keel was laid in a ceremony at the Ingalls shipyards on 14 November 2017, and sponsored by Louisa Dixon, Virginia Munford, and Rolanda Pickett Wilson. She was launched on 27 January 2020, and christened on 24 April 2021 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. On 30 November 2022, Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee was delivered to the Navy, and commissioned in Key West, Florida, on 13 May 2023.

Service history

Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee unveiled a new battle flag in 2025, the flag pays tribute to the first female naval nurses. The flag shows the number 20 surrounded by 20 gold stars.