Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129) Christening Biographies

Ship Sponsors

Mrs. Madeleine Denton Doak

Co-Sponsor, Daughter of Jeremiah Denton

Madeleine Denton Doak is the eldest daughter of Jeremiah and Jane Denton. She was born in Nice, France during the family’s time there while young Lieutenant Denton was stationed aboard the USS Salem with the Sixth Fleet. Her subsequent homes included Pensacola, Florida and Newport, Rhode Island, but she was primarily raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia when she was aged eight to sixteen during her father’s heroic Prisoner of War (POW) years.

Four years after her father’s return from Hanoi, Madeleine met and married Lieutenant Terry Doak, U.S. Army. They raised their children, David and Micah, in Texas where she and Terry continue to live today. Madeleine retired from a 22-year career in Education in 2023. She is happily immersed in traveling, gardening, friendships, and writing about her family’s unique experiences during the Vietnam War. Her greatest joy is spending time with her family including three darling grandchildren – Daisy, Benjamin, and Mabel Jane – all born within the last two years.

As a result of her family’s experiences during the war, Madeleine knows well both the sacrifices and the pride of military service. Her parents’ stellar examples instilled in her their patriotism and gratitude for the United States of America. The support provided by the U. S. Navy and other service families during those years and beyond, combined with the knowledge of the vital role fellow officers played in her father’s survival and return with honor, convinced her unequivocally that the Navy truly is a family.

Admiral and Mrs. Denton would be especially honored that the future USS Jeremiah Denton is being built by the men and women of Ingalls Shipbuilding. They were born and raised in nearby Mobile, retired on Fowl River, and considered the whole region their home. Their seven children are immensely grateful their father’s legacy will be carried forward through the dedication of those who have built the ship and the men and women who will devote themselves to the protection of our country while stationed upon it.

Madeleine is thrilled to be able to officially continue her association with the United States Navy via co-sponsorship of the USS Jeremiah Denton.

Mrs. Mary Denton Lewis

Co-Sponsor, Daughter of Jeremiah Denton

Mary Denton Lewis is the youngest of Jeremiah and Jane Denton’s seven children. She was born in Newport, Rhode Island 18 months before her father’s plane was shot down over North Vietnam. Mary lived with her mother and siblings in Virginia Beach during her father’s 7 1/2 years in captivity as a Prisoner of War (POW) in Vietnam. Mary is acutely aware of, and forever grateful for, the love and support received from fellow U.S. Navy servicemen and women and their families during those years, and to this day.

After her father’s return from Vietnam, Mary lived on the Naval Station Norfolk while her dad served as Commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College. She spent her high school years in Mobile, Alabama, her parents’ hometown, where they returned after her father’s retirement from the Navy. She worked during summers in college in Washington, DC while her father continued his service to his country as a U.S. Senator from Alabama.

Mary is currently an attorney. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Mike Hutton. She is the proud mother of two sons, Bartlett Tully Lewis, Jr., and Denton Sage Lewis.

The importance of service to God, country, and family was an overriding theme emphasized and demonstrated by both Jeremiah and Jane Denton during their lives. Mary shares the deep love they had for this country and for the men and women who serve and protect her. She loves the Navy and the profound bond service families share. Mary is humbled and honored to serve with her sister as co-sponsor of the future USS Jeremiah Denton.

Mrs. Micah Doak

Matron of Honor, Granddaughter of Jeremiah Denton

Micah Doak is the daughter of Terry Doak and Madeleine Denton Doak and the granddaughter of Jane Denton and Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton. Some of Micah’s fondest childhood memories took place just up the coast from Pascagoula, where she spent summers fishing, swimming, and playing poker with her grandfather at his home along the Fowl River. She is honored to fulfill the role of Co-Matron of Honor for the future USS Jeremiah Denton, and is particularly grateful to begin this journey so close to her beloved grandparents’ former home.

Micah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin. She then joined Teach for America and earned her master’s degree in education from Boston University while teaching high school humanities and special education in Dorchester, Massachusetts. After three years in the classroom, Micah enrolled at New York University School of Law. She received her Juris Doctor degree in 2015 and returned to Texas to work at the Houston office of an international law firm, Jones Day.

Micah currently serves as Pro Bono Counsel at Jones Day. In this role, she helps manage the Border Project, an initiative that provides free legal services and access to the rule of law to asylum seekers at the southern border. Micah and her husband Matt are the proud parents of two children, Benjamin (23 months) and Mabel Jane (3 months); two dogs; and a horse.

Mrs. Allison Denton Shumate

Matron of Honor, Granddaughter of Jeremiah Denton

Allison Denton Shumate was born in Norfolk, Virginia, during America’s glorious 600-ship Navy that won the Cold War. Her early years were spent in that historic naval operating area where her father was a shipyard manager and Navy Reserve Officer and where her grandfather, Rear Admiral & U. S. Senator Jeremiah Denton, Jr., deployed from and returned with honor to as a heroic senior American POW in North Vietnam. Her veteran heritage also includes another grandfather, four uncles and an aunt, two first cousins, kin in each generation back to colonial times, and three ship sponsors: her grandmother Jane Maury Denton, her aunt Madeleine Denton Doak, and her devoted aunt and godmother, Mary Denton Lewis.

As a Virginia Tech graduate, Allison applies her Psychology degree serving as Chief Marketing Officer at a behavioral science consumer research firm. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, Ryan; their two sons, Michael (eight years old) and Thomas (seven years old); and a golden retriever. Their deep love for the water is fulfilled by a family cottage alongside the Rappahannock River.

With such deep running Navy currents driving intense respect for all veterans and their families who must brave difficult circumstances too often and for the vitally important superbly skilled men and women who build and maintain our American Navy, Allison is profoundly honored and most sincerely dedicated to serve as Matron of Honor for the future USS Jeremiah Denton.

Special Guests

Mr. Brian Blanchette

President of Ingalls Shipbuilding and Executive Vice President of HII

Brian Blanchette is executive vice president of HII and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. Named to this position in January 2025, he is responsible for all programs and operations at Ingalls, including the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault and surface combatant ship programs and the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter program.

Prior to his current role, Blanchette served as the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Quality and Engineering for Ingalls Shipbuilding. In this position, he oversaw the formulation, management, and oversight of the division’s quality program, research & development, ship design engineering, integrated logistics support (ILS), and planning yard programs.

Blanchette began his career at Ingalls Shipbuilding in 1996 as an associate naval architect with Research & Development. Over his 28-year tenure, he has held various positions in Engineering, Program Management, and Business Development, where he supported multiple international programs, served as the technical lead for Ingalls’ LCS proposal offering, was the ship design manager for multiple platforms, and was the ship program manager for Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). Most recently, he was director of Technical & Design Engineering, where he led his team in executing the DDG Flight III, LHA 8, and LPD 28, 29, and 30 design efforts while providing technical support across all ship classes during construction.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan and attended the Center for Corporate Education program at The College of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

Active in his community, Blanchette serves on the executive committee of the Gulf Coast Business Council and board of directors for the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation and the Mississippi Economic Council. He also serves on the Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board for the Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering at Mississippi State University.

Dr. Brett Seidle, DON

Acting Assistant for the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (ASN RD&A)

Dr. Brett Seidle has served as a member of the Senior Executive Service for nearly 1 0 years and has extensive experience in the private sector. He is performing the duties of Under Secretary of the Navy, which he assumed April 16, 2025.
The Under Secretary of the Navy serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Management Officer of the Department of the Navy (DON). Seidle is responsible for providing oversight and developing policy for defense and naval strategy, intelligence and intelligence-related activities, sensitive activities, special access programs, space activities, critical infrastructure, small business programs, and the naval audit service. Additionally, he is responsible for business operations, performance management, and risk management within the Department of Navy.

Since January 2025 he has also served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A). Previously, he served as the Principal Civilian Deputy to ASN RD&A. In this role, he provides oversight and policy for Navy & Marine Corps research, development, and acquisition/sustainment programs for shipbuilding, aviation, space, weapon systems, and communication systems. The ASN RD&A portfolio includes oversight of more than 100,000 employees and governs the operation of the Department of Navy’s worldwide acquisition system with annual obligations in excess of $155 billion. He previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Engineering (DASN (RDT&E)) under ASN (RD&A), responsible for executive oversight of all matters related to RDT&E Budget Activities, Science and Engineering, Advanced Research and Development, Prototyping and Experimentation, and Test and Evaluation. He was also responsible for oversight and stewardship of the Department of Navy Research and Development Establishment, which includes the naval laboratories, warfare centers, the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Postgraduate School and five University Affiliated Research Centers.

He was formerly the Executive Director for Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) with more than 29,000 employees. The NAVSEA Warfare Centers represent approximately 30 percent of the Navy’s engineering and scientific expertise and is comprised of 10 echelon-four warfare center divisions and two echelon-five commands. During his time at NAVSEA, Dr. Seidle was also detailed into the position of Executive Director for SEA 04 Industrial Operations in FY21-22, where he provided leadership and direction for the nation’s public and private shipyards in maintenance, modernization, and new construction, responsible for more than 37,000 employees.

Dr. Seidle was appointed as a member of the Senior Executive Service and named the Division Technical Director (TD) at NSWC Crane in October 2016 where he was responsible for an organization of 3,700 civilian employees focused on providing engineering and technical expertise to the nation’s warfighters. He began his career in the public sector with NSWC Crane in 2000 and while there, was awarded a fellowship to pursue his PhD in Public Policy at Indiana University, which he completed in 2010.
A graduate of General Motors Institute, Dr. Seidle began his career in the private sector in 1983 working as an electrical engineer for General Motors. He was awarded a GM Fellowship to attend Stanford University, where he obtained his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Upon his return to in 1992, he became Die Cast Manufacturing Manager of the GM Powertrain Bedford Facility.
In 1995, Dr. Seidle accepted a position with a joint venture between Alcoa and Cast Metals Industries, becoming Plant Manager of CMI-Precision Mold casting facility. In this role, he had full profit and loss responsibility for a facility with 700+ employees and $100 million in sales, managing it through the launch of the industry’s first all-aluminum cross-member subframe for Chrysler’s minivan. He subsequently became Plant Manager for Alcoa’s Kentucky Casting Center, responsible for the construction/design of the facility and organization from a brownfield site to full operational status.

VADM James Downey, USN

Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command

Vice Admiral James Downey is a native of New York and a 1986 graduate of the State University of New York, Albany with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Computer Science. He was commissioned in 1987 and is a 1997 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Science in Computer Science followed by Engineering Duty Officer School where he graduated with distinction and received the Founder’s Award. He assumed his duties as Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command on Jan. 3, 2024.

He qualified as a surface warfare officer aboard USS HAYLER (DD 997). Additional operational assignments include intelligence briefing officer to the Commander in Chief, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea; and multiple deployments afloat in the North Atlantic, Baltic, Arctic Circle, and Pacific.
Engineering duty officer assignments include tours in the Global Positioning System and Navigation Sensor System Interface programs, leading Tomahawk integration; chief engineer for high assurance systems at the Defense Information Systems Agency and National Security Agency; officer in charge of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Facility, Yokosuka, Japan; CVN 21 program chief engineer and warfare systems director; CG(X) major program manager; and major program manager for the DDG 1000 program including delivery of the first ship of the class.

Flag officer assignments include commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center and Naval Sea Systems Command’s deputy commander for surface warfare, program executive officer, Aircraft Carriers and special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.
Downey’s awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (three awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), and various other personal, unit, and service awards.

Rear Admiral Brian Metcalf, USN

Program Executive Officer, Ships

Rear Admiral Brian Metcalf is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in May 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Architecture. He earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in 2000 and was selected to transfer to the Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) community.

Metcalf’s shipboard tours include USS SAN JACINTO (CG 56) and USS BRISCOE (DD 977), completing two deployments to the Persian Gulf and earning his Surface Warfare Officer qualification.

After selection to the EDO community, Metcalf qualified as an EDO at Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Newport News, VA serving as an Aircraft Carrier Project Manager and then served on the Board of Inspection and Survey.

In 2006, Metcalf joined PEO Aircraft Carriers and served in the CVN 21 Program Office (PMS 378).He completed an Individual Augmentee assignment in Baghdad, Iraq with the US Army Corps of Engineers, and then transferred to PEO Ships and served in the LPD 17 Program Office (PMS 317).In 2010, he reported to Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath, ME as the Program Manager’s Representative for DDG 1000, and then returned to Washington DC as the DDG 1000 Deputy Shipbuilding Director (PMS 500) and then as Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Ships).Starting in August 2016, he served as Major Program Manager for the LPD 17 Program Office (PMS 317).Metcalf then served as Executive Assistant to Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).In July 2020, he was hand-selected to serve as the Major Program Manager for the CVN 78 FORD Class Program (PMS 378).After his Program Manager command tours, Metcalf served as the NAVSEA Vice Commander. He assumed his current duties as Program Executive Officer, Ships in May 2025.

Metcalf’s awards include the Legion of Merit (three awards), Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Navy Commendation Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medal (three awards), and various unit and campaign awards.

CDR Commander Jeffrey Perry, CHC, USN

Command Chaplain, Bougainville (LHA 8)

Chaplain Perry was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps in September of 2003. The following summer, he reported to Naval Chaplains School, Newport, Rhode Island for Basic Chaplain Training, completing the Officer Induction School, Naval Chaplain Basic Course, Division Officer Capstone Course, and Amphibious Expeditionary Course. For the next three years, he remained a Chaplain Candidate while completing Seminary education and other religious organization requirements.

In July of 2007, Chaplain Perry ascended to active duty after completing two weeks of TEAMs at the Naval Chaplain Corps School, Newport, Rhode Island. His duty stations include Staff Chaplain, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan; Tactical Chaplain, USS Makin Island (LHD 8), San Diego, California; Tactical Chaplain, 1st Marine Division Camp Pendleton, 1st Battalion 4th Marines, 1st Battalion 11th Marines; Clinical Pastoral Education Resident, Navy Medical Center San Diego, California; Group Chaplain, Naval Hospital Pensacola, Florida; Command Chaplain, Strategic Communication Wing One, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Command Chaplain, 10th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and as Deputy Division Chaplain, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In March 2024, he began serving as the Command Chaplain, PCU USS Bougainville (LHA 8).

Chaplain Perry completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resource Administration in 2001 from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2005, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. In 2014, he earned a Master of Theology Certificate in Applied Theology from the University of Balamand, Lebanon. In 2016, he completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education and became board certified in Clinical Pastoral Care through the National Association of Veteran Affairs Chaplains. In 2019, he completed the Mental Health Integration of Chaplain Services through the Veteran’s Affairs Chaplain program.

Chaplain Perry is an ordained priest with the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and is credentialed to serve as a chaplain.

Chaplain Perry has been married to his wife, Andrea (nee. Schnute) for 26 years, and they have eight children. He enjoys cycling, ultra-running, woodworking, and writing poetry.

Chaplain Perry’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four gold stars), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.