 The ship is named for Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence (1930–2005), a naval aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, Mercury astronaut finalist, Vietnam War prisoner of war, a U.S. Third Fleet commander, a Chief of Naval Personnel, and a Superintendent of the U.S.Naval Academy.Her keel was laid down on 16 September 2008, at the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.