Namesake
USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) is named after the 59th United States Secretary of the Navy and is the 67th Arleigh Burke class destroyer, 2nd in the flight IIA “technology insertion” type. Its primary mission is to provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities.
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1942, Ignatius was accepted for a master’s program with Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. The program carried the prerequisite of commissioning in the Army or Navy before attendance. In August of 1942, he was commissioned as an ensign in naval ordnance.
With the completion of service on the USS Manila Bay and the termination of World War II, Ignatius separated from the Naval service in 1946. He then attended Harvard Business School where he received a Master of Business Administration.
Upon graduating, Ignatius became a research assistant and ultimately an instructor in business administration for the school. This eventually led to his involvement in Harbridge House, a consulting and research firm that produced teaching materials for civilian organizations and the government.
Aiding in both the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations, Ignatius became the Assistant Secretary of the Army and later the Under Secretary of the Army. In 1965, he became the Assistant Secretary of Defense and then the Secretary of the Navy in 1967. He resides in Washington D.C. with his wife, Nancy Ignatius.
“I would tell young people today to be true to your values, to be honest, and to believe in the possibility of the future and the opportunities that lie therein.”