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MOBILE, Ala. — It’s hard to understand the scale of the U.S. Navy’s newest destroyer, the U.S.S. William P. Lawrence, until one stands on the bow of the ship. 

A gun barrel as thick as a man’s thigh and almost as long as a telephone pole points out to the horizon. 

Behind it are 24 hatches, arrayed in a checkered pattern, filled with missiles meant for potential enemies in the air, on the land or under the water. Above the weapons stands the radar system — four giant octagonal patches that can track up to 500 targets at a time within a 250-mile radius. 

But for the ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Tom Williams, that display of power and technology does not rate as the most impressive part of the ship. 

“It’s the people that make us unique,” he said Thursday during a media tour of the vessel. “Building a ship is like seeing your kids grow up and go to college. That’s what we’ve built here — a big family.” 

The ship, the 60th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built for the Navy, will be commissioned Saturday morning before an invited crowd of about 5,000, including Navy dignitaries, shipbuilding leaders and elected officials. 

The ship is 509 feet long and weighs 9,200 tons. It has a crew of 270 people, and will be used for a variety of purposes, including humanitarian aid, fighting pirates and drug-runners, and warfare. 

The ship was built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, which has nearly 11,000 workers, making it the largest industrial employer along the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf coast. 

The ship is named after Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, a Naval aviator who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and later served as superintendent of the Naval Academy. 

“The sailors on this ship have taken his character and his spirit to heart,” Williams said. 

Adm. James A. Winnefeld, Jr., commander, United States Northern Command, will deliver the main address at the commissioning. 

Diane Lawrence, the widow of the ship’s namesake, and their daughters, Laurie Lawrence and retired U.S. Navy Capt. Wendy Lawrence, are serving as the sponsors of the ship. 

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