The sleek Charles F. Adams-class guided-missile destroyers had always been my choice for “most beautiful ship” in the U.S. Navy, and the USS Semmes (DDG-18) was very familiar to me. I had recently completed my military service as a medical officer on the Destroyer Squadron Six staff and still had pleasant memories of sea cruises and liberty calls, many of them aboard this ship. This was going to be a special project.

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