Don’t forget about us, Montana senator tells Navy

WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Tester is asking the Navy to name one of its vessels after Montana for the first time.

There’s never been a USS Montana, Tester says, even though there have been six USS New Yorks, four USS Alaskas and three USS South Dakotas.

“Despite being a landlocked state, thousands of Montanans have served in the Navy and Marines during times of conflict,” Tester said in a letter to Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter.

A USS Montana was planned in World War II, according to Tester, but construction was canceled in 1943.

Tester, D-Mont., requested that the Navy use the name for a submarine scheduled for delivery in April 2011.

The Navy hasn’t totally ignored Montana, however.

There is a USS Helena based in California and there was a USS Missoula in the early 1900s.

Montana isn’t the only state hoping that a Navy vessel will bear its name.

North Dakota’s congressional delegation asked the Navy earlier this year to name a new submarine USS North Dakota.