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^K-en ca**et* uPon to preserve liberty, naval ships from around the world joined sailing vessels in New York harbor on 4 July to honor Lady Liberty on her 100th birthday.
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National attention focused on New York Harbor this past 4 July as the USS Iowa (BB-61), with President Ronald Reagan on board, steamed slowly down the Hudson River before an impressive assembly of U. S. and foreign warships participating in the International Naval Review (INR).
The Naval Review was a high point of the three-day, star-spangled extravaganza billed as “Liberty Weekend” and honoring the centennial of the recently refurbished Statue of Liberty. President Reagan relit the steel and copper colossus—a venerable symbol of American freedom that had undergone a three-year, $62 million restoration—in a ceremony at Governor’s Island on the evening of 3 July. A virtually unbroken series of celebrations followed. In addition to the INR, these included Operation Sail 1986, hundreds of local ethnic festivals, and the largest fireworks display ever staged— $2,000,000 worth. During the long weekend an estimated 5,000,000 people came to New York to witness some, if not all, of the events.
This was the fifth International Naval Review that has taken place in U. S.
waters to celebrate unique historical occasions. The first, held in New York harbor in 1893, commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. In 1907, Hampton Roads, Virginia, was the scene of the second review, celebrating the founding of Jamestown. Fifty years later, Jamestown’s 350th anniversary was the basis for a second Hampton Roads review. And to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial, a fourth review was held in New York Harbor on 4 July 1976. Representation by foreign navy ships and delegations has varied from six nations in 1907 to a high of more than 40 during the bicentennial.
This year’s gathering of 33 warships was made up of 21 ships representing 13 foreign nations and 12 ships from the U. S. Atlantic Fleet. They were anchored along a ten-mile route stretching from Weehawken, New Jersey, to Staten Island. The U. S. warships, ranging from the diesel-powered attack submarine Bonefish (SS-582) to the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67), dominated the fleet in variety and size. Of particular interest among the larger visiting ships were two helicopter car
riers', the French Navy’s Jeanne d &rC and the British Royal Navy’s Ark Royal. Destroyer- and frigate-sized combatants represented Canada, Japan’ Brazil, India, Morocco, the Netherlands, and West Germany. A variety mostly smaller patrol craft rounded oU the fleet. ,
President and Mrs. Reagan v'ewe.,v the long line of ships from a specia y built platform atop the Iowa’s numbe one 16-inch gun turret. Secretary Defense Caspar Weinberger, Navy be retary John Lehman, and the newly appointed Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Carlisle H. Trost were also 1 board. Each ship, bedecked with co 0 ful signal pennants and with crew members manning the rails, fired a ^ gun salute to honor the commander-* chief as the Iowa passed. Overhead, the U. S. Navy’s Blue Angels and ’
U. S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds, alon with aerial demonstration teams {to , France and the United Kingdom, roa up the Hudson in diamond and V-formations, streaming contrails o red, white, and blue smoke. It was, the words of the President, “absolu brilliant.”
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baj-jj ^tervals behind the Coast Guard ftp- came Class-A navy ships Om Pain, Portugal, West Germany, 11 »n’ ^donesia, Mexico, and Italy.
Slx largc South American naval sail
N-the hour-long International Spe | ev'ew ended, another maritime Saii ml6 ^ot under way—Operation sajij A parade of more than 200 biHed^ VCSSe's fr°m all over the world, sbiDas dlc largest gathering of tall be„ ever assembled in modem times, Verrn entering the harbor under the SUreazano Narrows Bridge. In large mea- tern’.lt Was another element of the In- tbe 2‘0nal Naval Review. Fourteen of full- ' ar^est barks, barkentines, and an ..n®ed ships, Class A vessels with WereVera» length of at least 175 feet, sbipsnaval or Coast Guard training
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Th^ shiPs also paraded, thou 6 *ne windjammers, paced by r,rchSands °f small craft and several °ats spraying multicolored plumes of water high into the air, received a noisy welcome. Bands played dozens of national anthems, thousands of horns honked, and millions of spectators ashore cheered as the tall ships, their massive white sails hanging limply in the mid-day sun, motored proudly past.
The avowed intention of Operation Sail, to promote “the Brotherhood of the Sea and International goodwill,” was not, however, totally realized. Reportedly because of the chill in East- West relations, the Soviet Union, which maintains the world’s largest fleet of tall ships, declined to send any of its vessels to the celebration. Nor were all the ships that did arrive, totally welcome. Weeks before the event the U. S. Congress passed a resolution voicing strong objection to the presence of the Chilean barkentine Esmeralda, which, according to press accounts, was used as a torture ship during the 1973 overthrow of the Al- lende government.
To some of those present, the weekend’s greatest maritime spectacle involved neither naval combatants nor the tall ships. In scenes reminiscent of rush hour grid-lock, an estimated 30,000 private spectator boats, ranging from kayaks to plush yachts, jammed into the harbor to obtain ringside seats for the festivities. The job of maintaining order, guiding small boats out of the way of moving ships, and, most of all, being ready to respond to emergency assistance calls, fell primarily to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard’s Third District Operations Center on Governor’s Island had been planning for the Lady’s birthday for more than a year, in what had become the largest operation of its type in the service’s history. The fact that no serious mishap occurred during the entire weekend is a tribute to the professionals involved. A total of 1,800 Coast Guard men and women, most on board 90 ships and boats, and additional Coast Guardsmen flying five helicopters, and more than 1,000 citizen sailors manning 225 auxiliary craft, worked long into each night to keep order. Looking out into the darkness, the flashing blue lights atop their small boats—visible everywhere in the harbor—were a sight as reassuring as Miss Liberty herself.
Pr,
™gs / September 1986
51
ABRAHAM CRUNSSEN (NETHERLANDS), ABOVE, GODAVARI (INDIA), INSET
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“ngs / September 1986
"DANESIA