My son's Scout Troop stayed overnight on the Battleship New Jersey. From Wikipedia (link),
USS New Jersey (BB-62; "Big J" or "Black Dragon") is an Iowa-class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the US state of New Jersey. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War.
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| Black Dragons in the gift shop ... |
During World War II, New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa, and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War, she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet". She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support US troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War.
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| Battle ribbons |
New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991 (after serving a total of 21 years in the active fleet), having earned a Navy Unit Commendation for service in Vietnam and 19 battle and campaign stars for combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and service in the Persian Gulf. After a brief retention in the mothball fleet, she was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, and began her career as a museum ship 15 October 2001.
The Scouts descend upon the floating museum.
The scouts learned to walk backwards down the stairs into the mess hall.
Anchors Aweigh!
Glad to see the ship hosted a library ...
... and a chapel!
The scouts ate dinner in the Enlisted Mess Hall ... all American chicken nuggets with mac and cheese.
I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter from this week's posts. To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about New Jersey - what do you know about the Garden State?
2. Comments are open through Saturday, September 20, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 21, at SOS Aloha, sosaloha.blogspot.com.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
