The Navy's newest and most technically
advanced guided missile destroyer, the USS Preble,
was commissioned Saturday in Boston in a stirring
ceremony replete with time-honored naval tradition.
Gold Star Mothers ( L to R):
Nikki Likely, Florence Johnson, and Chris Devlin
Although the ship was built in Mississippi
and will be stationed in San Diego, the ship's skipper,
Cmdr. Tim Batzler, recommended it be commissioned
in Boston for three reasons:
Commodore Edward Preble, for whom the ship is named,
was born in Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland,
Maine.
Commodore Preble's legacy involved the USS Constitution,
which is home-ported in Boston's Charlestown Navy
Yard.
Boston always had a great reputation as a navy
town.
The USS Constitution was moored
alongside the Preble at the World Trade Center
Pier for the ceremony. Sailors from the Constitution
served as a color guard in colonial costume.
"Officers and crew of the
USS Preble, man our ship and bring her to life!"
cried the ship's sponsor, Connie Rae Clark,
wife of Admiral Vern Clark, the Chief of Naval
Operations. At her command and to the musical
strains of "Anchors Aweigh," hundreds
of cheering sailors ran onto the ship, climbing
ladders and lining the decks of the destroyer.
Admiral Clark said, "Our
mantra today is life, liberty and the pursuit
of those who threaten it!"
The fighting spirit of the crew was
high. In his address, Admiral Clark said, "Our
mantra today is life, liberty and the pursuit of those
who threaten it!" To buttress those comments,
the crew hung a banner on the side of the ship saying,
"Let's roll!"
The ship's Executive Officer, Lt. Cmdr
Steve Lorentzen, told MassNews that six of the crew
are from Massachusetts.
Ted Kennedy was at hand at
the ceremony.
The commissioning ceremony included
the Breaking of the Commissioning Pennant, Assumption
of Command, Setting of the First Watch, Manning
the Ship and Reporting for Duty. Interspersed
between the different steps were the sounds
of cannon salutes, ship's bells, sailor's whistles
and martial music by the navy band.
On hand to speak at the ceremony
were navy brass, defense contractors and politicians
including Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman
Steven Lynch. Also present was the ceremony's
honorary chairman, veteran war correspondent
and broadcaster, Walter Cronkite. Among the
audience were gold star mothers and three Medal
of Honor winners.
The ship's commissioning capped a week
on the town for nearly four hundred crew members who
toured, partied and attended ceremonies and sporting
events. Despite the hoopla, over a hundred sailors
took time to visit patients at the Shriners Hospital
for Children.
The Preble is a cutting-edge destroyer
with both offensive and defensive capabilities. It
is the 38th of 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers authorized
by Congress. The destroyer is capable of fighting
air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously.
The 9300 ton ship is powered by four gas turbine engines
to speeds in excess of 30 knots.
Destroyers are traditionally named for great
naval leaders and heroes. Born in 1761, Edward
Preble began his sailing life at the age of
sixteen when he ran away to sea on a privateer.
His distinguished Revolutionary War exploits
and merchant marine service were only exceeded
by his command of the USS Constitution against
the Barbary Pirates in 1803.
Five previous ships were named after Preble.
Some veterans of the Preble's previous incarnations
were on hand for the ceremony.
During the commissioning
ceremony for the Navy's newest destroyer, the
USS Prebble, the crew unfurled a banner that read
"Let's Roll" to the enthusiastic cheers
of nearly eight thousand spectators at pier four
in Boston.
Commodore Edward Preble, for whom the ship is named,
was born in Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland,
Maine.
