The USS Gabrielle Giffords commissioned: 'I will never forget this day'

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton praised former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for recovering from an assassination attempt with "grace and faith" as the Navy dedicated a ship in the Arizonan's honor Saturday.

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The USS Gabrielle Giffords is set to take to the sea from Galveston, Texas, and Saturday's dedication ceremony honored the Democrat who managed to survive a shooting at an event in Tuscon in 2011. Clinton said "this ship like its namesake, is extraordinary."

Speaking about the shooting incident in which Giffords was shot in the head, which forced her to retire from Congress, Clinton said her recovery is hard to imagine.

"As with so much else about Gabrielle Giffords, she came out of that experience with grace and faith that is almost hard to imagine," she said.

Clinton added, "She said how can she make the most of the life, the miracle she represented. And time and time again, she has stood up, ready to keep moving forward to persevere with her trademark humor, kindness and relentless optimism."

The ceremony in Galveston featured speeches by top Navy brass and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, among others. The ship is an Independence-class littoral combat ship.

Giffords, with the help of her retired astronaut and Navy veteran husband Mark Kelly, made short, enthusiastic remarks thanking the sailors who would be sailing on the ship that bears her name.