Ships That Serve America

Jayden was off from school for Veteran's Day so I decided to take him by bus into the city for the day.
I thought it would be nice to see the Veteran's Day Parade (previous post), and I wanted to see the USS Intrepid and also the USS New York before it left our area.
My pictures do not do either of these distinguished ships justice, so I also added some photos taken off the internet.

We got off the bus and made our way to Pier 86, and both Jayden and I were very impressed with what we saw. First we walked over to view the USS Intrepid.





World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was commissioned in 1943 and participated in many invasions and air strikes against the Japanese. After the war the Intrepid also served as a recovery vessel for space missions, picking up astronauts and their capsules. In 1966 the Intrepid was deployed to Viet Nam and did three tours of duty.



The Intrepid was decommissioned on March 15, 1974 and began a new mission honoring our heroes, educating the public, and inspiring youth.
New York City developer and philanthropist Zachary Fisher spearheaded the campaign to save the Intrepid from the scrap yard and the ship opened as a museum in 1982. In 1986 it was designated a National History Landmark.
Intrepid served as temporary headquarters for the FBI during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, and also during the early investigations during the weeks following.





Then we turned our attention to the USS New York. The USS New York was built with steel from the rubble of the World Trade Center. The USS New York is a symbol of healing and strength.


Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, said at the ship's commissioning ceremony, "No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back. America always comes back. That's what this ship represents."
Hundreds of Navy officers and sailors joined first responders and families of September 11 victims when Mabus announced, "I hereby place the USS New York in commission. Man our ship and bring her to life!"



The commissioning ceremony also began with a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended and spoke at the ceremony saying that many of New York's structures are made of steel but that the strongest steel of New York has always been in the spine of it's people.


When first arriving in New York the USS New York passed the World Trade Center for the first time and the ship gave the site a rifle volley salute.



The USS New York remained here until Thursday, November 12 when she returned to her home port in Norfolk, Virginia.

I thought the flags here were at half-mast for Veteran's Day but Ray said he didn't think the flags are flown at half-mast on Veteran's Day, he said they were at half-mast to honor the victims of the Fort Hood shooting.

Flags flown at half-mast for the victims of the hateful Fort Hood attack and in the backdrop is the ship made from the steel of the remains of the hateful September 11 attack.
It's heart-wrenching.
Unfortunately this war of hate and terror continues on.
God Bless those that serve to protect us and our way of life.

As sad as this sight was to me, it was also inspiring.
It was very moving to see these two legendary ships alongside each other, the USS Intrepid now retired from the Navy but still providing us a service, and the USS New York just starting her career of service to the United States of America, but, she too already carries so much history.