Navy Dads2024-03-29T15:28:15ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordhamhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1927225899?profile=original&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://navydads.com/group/navyhistory/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=0ar9c0fi1tnjl&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThis Day in Naval History - June 14tag:navydads.com,2012-06-15:2150375:Topic:2715532012-06-15T00:48:35.454ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
<p><span class="font-size-4" style="font-family: times new roman,times;">1777 - John Paul Jones takes command of Ranger.</span></p>
<p><br></br><span class="font-size-4" style="font-family: times new roman,times;">1777 - Continental Congress adopts design of present U.S. Flag.</span></p>
<p><br></br><span class="font-size-4" style="font-family: times new roman,times;">1847 - Commodore Matthew Perry launches amphibious river operations by Sailors and Marines on Tabasco River,…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">1777 - John Paul Jones takes command of Ranger.</span></p>
<p><br/><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">1777 - Continental Congress adopts design of present U.S. Flag.</span></p>
<p><br/><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">1847 - Commodore Matthew Perry launches amphibious river operations by Sailors and Marines on Tabasco River, Mexico.</span></p>
<p><br/><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">1940 - Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Naval Expansion Act to construct ships to increase Navy's tonnage by 11 percent.</span></p>
<p><br/><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">1985 - Steelworker 2nd Class Robert D. Stethem of Underwater Construction Team 1 was killed by militant Shi'ite hijackers of TWA Flight 847. He later received a Bronze Star for his heroism.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" class="font-size-4">Source: Navy.mil<br/></span></p> To HooYah or not to HooYahtag:navydads.com,2011-11-08:2150375:Topic:2213082011-11-08T22:23:15.500ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
<p>Found an odd article Navy Times recently posted. Since they are asking... My thoughts, LAME. What do you guys think?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/navy-tell-us-what-you-think-hooyah-102411w/">http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/navy-tell-us-what-you-think-hooyah-102411w/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Tell us what you think: Hooyah!</h2>
<p> </p>
<div class="subtitle"></div>
<div class="info">Staff report<br></br> Posted : Monday Oct 24, 2011 12:10:07 EDT</div>
<p>The…</p>
<p>Found an odd article Navy Times recently posted. Since they are asking... My thoughts, LAME. What do you guys think?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/navy-tell-us-what-you-think-hooyah-102411w/">http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/navy-tell-us-what-you-think-hooyah-102411w/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Tell us what you think: Hooyah!</h2>
<p> </p>
<div class="subtitle"></div>
<div class="info">Staff report<br/> Posted : Monday Oct 24, 2011 12:10:07 EDT</div>
<p>The Marines have “oorah,” the Army has “hooah” and the Air Force has ... anyway, the Marines have “oorah.”</p>
<p>These days, more and more sailors are saying “hooyah,” and there is no bigger champion than Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West. He uses it in emails and videos to fleet (both serious and funny) and even leads crowds in spirited group hooyahs during all-hands calls.</p>
<p>The term has been around for at least a couple of decades, but mostly in the diving, special warfare and explosive ordnance disposal communities. West, a submariner, picked up the term while visiting a dive school in the 1990s and has been saying it ever since. But it wasn’t until he became MCPON in December 2008 that he had the chance to use it before a wide audience.</p>
<p>So what do you think? Should the fleet, regardless of community, get behind hooyah? Is it a rallying cry that builds esprit de corps, or does it feel forced? Is it something you say to show excitement and motivation or do you say it when you agree with someone? Or is it both? When you say it, do you mean it? Or do you use it sarcastically?</p>
<p>Does hooyah belong in the SPECWAR, EOD and diving communities? Or should it be shared by all? If not hooyah, what should sailors shout, if anything?</p>
<p>We’d like to know what you — active and reserve, enlisted and officer — think. Email staff writer <a href="mailto:mfaram@navytimes.com?subject=Tell%20us%20what%20you%20think:%20Hooyah!">Mark D. Faram</a> to share your thoughts. Be specific. Your opinions could be used in an upcoming story.</p>
<p> </p> Origins of "Taps"tag:navydads.com,2009-05-26:2150375:Topic:440912009-05-26T14:21:52.474ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
I was at a Memorial Service at Copley, OH yesterday and they read the following story before playing Taps. It was pretty moving.<br />
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It all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a solder who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier,…
I was at a Memorial Service at Copley, OH yesterday and they read the following story before playing Taps. It was pretty moving.<br />
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It all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a solder who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.<br />
Crawling on his stomach through gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army.<br />
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his supervisor to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate but out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. The haunting melody we know as "Taps" used at military funerals was born.<br />
These are the words to "Taps":<br />
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"Day is done,<br />
Gone the sun,<br />
From the lakes,<br />
From the hills,<br />
From the sky.<br />
All is well.<br />
Safely rest.<br />
God is nigh."<br />
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Today, I searched for the story and found it appears this story is fiction according the <a href="http://www.truthorfiction.com">www.truthorfiction.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/t/taps.htm">http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/t/taps.htm</a><br />
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According a researcher at West Point, there is no historical evidence that anyone named Robert Ellicombe even existed in the Union army. Master Sergeant Jari Villanueva is a part of the United States Air Force Band and is not only a historian about the tune "Taps," but is working on an exhibit for Arlington National Cemetery about bugle calls. Both he and Kathryn Shenkle, Historian for Arlington National Cemetery, agree that "Taps" came from Brig. General Daniel Butterfield at Harrison's Landing in Virginia in 1862. Sgt. Villanueva has found correspondence from both General Butterfield and a bugler which confirm the origins, although there are some minor discrepancies in their letters. Navy Christens Newest Arleigh Burke-Class Ship Gravelytag:navydads.com,2009-05-20:2150375:Topic:432252009-05-20T15:36:42.712ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
Found this story pretty uplifting.<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/thumbnails/thumb_090516-N-5549O-185.jpg"></img></p>
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From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications<br />
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PASCAGOULA, Miss (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy christened the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Gravely (DDG 107), May 16, during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.<br />
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"For those of you who sail on Gravely, this is your legacy. The namesake of your ship was the consummate Navy professional. He was calm in…
Found this story pretty uplifting.<br />
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/thumbnails/thumb_090516-N-5549O-185.jpg"/></p>
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From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications<br />
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PASCAGOULA, Miss (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy christened the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Gravely (DDG 107), May 16, during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.<br />
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"For those of you who sail on Gravely, this is your legacy. The namesake of your ship was the consummate Navy professional. He was calm in command, quiet and confident to his approach to any question, but make no mistake: He wore the unmistakable mantle of the captain." said retired Adm. J. Paul Reason, who delivered the ceremony's principal remarks.<br />
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Alma Gravely served as the sponsor of the ship named for her late husband. In accordance with Navy tradition, she broke a bottle of champagne across the ship's bow and christened the ship.<br />
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She said she looks forward to staying engaged with the crew and has already told the prospective commanding officer to have family cruises, known in the Navy as tiger cruises.<br />
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"It would be our duty and pleasure to be with the ship and be a part of the ship for the rest of the ship's life or my life and the children's lives, and I'm really looking forward to a family cruise."<br />
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She said her husband would be very proud of the honor to have a ship named after him.<br />
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"Whatever job you have, make sure you do it well because it's your ship and you want to be number one when they grade them for the [Battle] E. Keep the ship clean and do your job well."<br />
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The new destroyer honors the late Vice Adm. Samuel L. Gravely Jr. After attending Virginia Union University, he enlisted in the Navy Reserve in September 1942. In 1943 he participated in a Navy program (V-12) designed to select and train highly qualified men for commissioning as officers in the Navy. On Dec. 14, 1944, Gravely successfully completed midshipman training, becoming the first African American commissioned as an officer from the Navy Reserve Officer Training Course. He was released from active duty in April 1946, but remained in the Navy Reserve.<br />
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Gravely was recalled to active duty in 1949. As part of the Navy's response to President Truman's executive order to desegregate the armed services, his initial assignment was as a Navy Recruiter, recruiting African Americans in the Washington, D.C., area. Gravely went on to a Navy career that lasted 38 years and included many distinguished accomplishments.<br />
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"Appropriately DDG 107 will be a member of the most powerful class of surface ships ever put to sea. She will serve as a platform for heroes for decades to come. We now have a vessel bearing his name to remind us who broke down the barriers that once kept African Americans away from the Navy," said Acting Secretary of the Navy B.J. Penn.<br />
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Gravely was a true pathfinder whose performance and leadership as an African American Naval officer demonstrated to America the value and strength of diversity. Gravely's accomplishments served as watershed events for today's Navy. He was the first African American to command a warship (USS Theodore E. Chandler); to command a major warship (USS Jouett); to achieve flag rank and eventually vice admiral; and to command a numbered fleet (Third Fleet).<br />
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Gravely's wife said the late admiral would urge the ship's crew to pursue educational opportunities to achieve some of the same accomplishments.<br />
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"He believed in education, and I know that he would be telling them to study and get your education so that you can be promoted. He believed in education very, very much."<br />
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Cmdr. Douglas Kunzman is the prospective commanding officer of the ship and will lead the crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel of the 9,200-ton vessel.<br />
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"This is a Flight Two Alpha destroyer so it has two helicopter hangers, so it will carry as part of the ship's company two helicopters. In addition to that, it will bring a wide variety of new weapons systems, not just the munitions that are put on board but also the gun weapons systems to include the crew served weapons that are used today in countering piracy and also other small boat threats and small boat attacks," said Kunzman.<br />
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Designated DDG 107, the 57th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Gravely will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Gravely will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to apply maritime power to protect U.S. vital interests in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world Cracker Jack Storytag:navydads.com,2009-05-18:2150375:Topic:429182009-05-18T01:17:40.026ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Crackerjack2.jpg/180px-Crackerjack2.jpg"></img></p>
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Taken from <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/cracker-jack#cite_note-0">http://www.answers.com/topic/cracker-jack#cite_note-0</a><br />
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History<br />
1893: Frederick William Rueckheim (known to friends and family as "Fritz") and his brother Louis mass produce Cracker Jack and sell it at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. At the time, it was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and was called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts".<br />
<br />
1896: Rueckheim devises a…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Crackerjack2.jpg/180px-Crackerjack2.jpg"/></p>
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Taken from <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/cracker-jack#cite_note-0">http://www.answers.com/topic/cracker-jack#cite_note-0</a><br />
<br />
History<br />
1893: Frederick William Rueckheim (known to friends and family as "Fritz") and his brother Louis mass produce Cracker Jack and sell it at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. At the time, it was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and was called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts".<br />
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1896: Rueckheim devises a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate. As each batch was mixed in a cement-mixer-like drum, a small quantity of oil was added -- a closely-guarded trade secret. Before this change, the mixture had been difficult to handle as it stuck together in chunks. In 1896, the first lot of Cracker Jack was produced. It was named by an enthusiastic sampler who remarked, "That's a Cracker Jack!"<br />
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1899: Henry Gottlieb Eckstein developed the "waxed sealed package" for freshness, known then as the "Eckstein Triple Proof Package," a dust,germ and moisture proof paper package. In 1902, the company was re-organized; Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein.<br />
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1912: Prizes included in Cracker Jack boxes for the first time. In recent years, the toy and trinket prizes have been replaced with paper prizes displaying riddles and jokes. These attained pop-culture status with the term "came in a Cracker Jack box" referring to an object of limited value.<br />
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1918: Mascots Sailor Jack and his dog, Bingo, are introduced (though they were not registered as trademark logos until 1919 . First Navy Jacktag:navydads.com,2009-05-16:2150375:Topic:428032009-05-16T12:32:54.251ZRon Fordhamhttps://navydads.com/profile/RonFordham
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.navyjack.info/i/clipart/Navy-Jack-med.gif"></img></p>
<br />
I lifted this info from <a href="http://www.navyjack.info">www.navyjack.info</a><br />
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<b>A Brief History of the U.S. Navy Jack</b><br />
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In the fall of 1775, as the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued a set of fleet signals. Among these signals was an instruction directing his vessels to fly a striped Jack and Ensign at their proper places. The custom of the jack-type flag had originated with the…
<p style="text-align:left"><img src="http://www.navyjack.info/i/clipart/Navy-Jack-med.gif"/></p>
<br />
I lifted this info from <a href="http://www.navyjack.info">www.navyjack.info</a><br />
<br />
<b>A Brief History of the U.S. Navy Jack</b><br />
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In the fall of 1775, as the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued a set of fleet signals. Among these signals was an instruction directing his vessels to fly a striped Jack and Ensign at their proper places. The custom of the jack-type flag had originated with the Royal Navy in the 15th century or earlier; such was the likely source of Hopkins' inspiration. This first U.S. Navy Jack has traditionally been shown as consisting of 13 horizontal alternating red and white stripes with a superimposed rattlesnake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me." The rattlesnake had long been a symbol of resistance to British repressive acts in Colonial America; its display on the new jack of the fledging Continental Navy fit naturally with the fervor of the times.<br />
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According to Dr. Whitney Smith of the Flag Research Center, the traditional design of the First Navy Jack has never been accurately determined. Historians inferred the design from Hopkins' message and a color plate depicting a slightly different "Don't Tread Upon Me" flag used as a Navy Ensign in Admiral George Henry Preble's 1880 book, History of the Flag of the United States. Historians' widely copied Preble's rare color plate, thus providing the probable source of the traditional design of the First Navy Jack.<br />
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The first U.S. Navy use of the Union Jack (a flag replicating the canton i.e. white stars on a blue field of the U.S. Flag) probably occurred soon after the adoption of the First Stars and Stripes Law on June 14, 1777. The First Stars and Stripes Law stated that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternating red and white and that the union be 13 white stars in a blue field representing a new constellation. Although the date of introduction of the Union Jack is not precisely known, a 1785 engraving of the frigate USS Philadelphia clearly depicts the Union Jack flying from her jackstaff.<br />
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As the number of states increased, the Union Jack was altered to conform to the canton of the national flag. General orders were issued from time to time by the Navy Department when a change in the number of stars was necessary.<br />
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Navy Regulations, first promulgated in 1865, prescribed the use of the jack. It is displayed daily from the jackstaff of all U.S. naval vessels in commission, from 8 a.m. to sunset while the ship is at anchor. Additionally it is flown to indicate a court martial is in progress, and as the President's and Secretary of the Navy's personal flag.<br />
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There have been a few where instances where the traditional First Navy Jack has been used in lieu of the Union Jack:<br />
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In 1975, the Secretary of the Navy directed that the First Navy Jack be flown in 1975 and 1976 in lieu of the Union Jack during the United States Bicentennial Year as a colorful and historic reminder of the nation's and the Navy's origin.<br />
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In August 1977 (the date is sometimes mistakenly (?) given as 1980 or even 1981), the Secretary of the Navy specified that the ship with the longest total period of active service display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service, at which time the flag shall be passed to the next ship in line with appropriate honors. Here are ships that have had this honor:<br />
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The USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) received the distinction from the Independence November 20, 1998. The Kitty Hawk was commissioned April 29, 1961 and still proudly displays the flag.<br />
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The USS Independence (CV-62) received the distinction from the Mauna Kea on June 30, 1995. The Independence was commissioned January 10, 1959. It was decommissioned September 30, 1998, in Bremerton, Washington. Click here for more about the history of the USS Independence.<br />
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The USS Mauna Kea (AE-22). The Mauna Kea was commissioned commissioned March 30, 1957. It was decommissioned June 30, 1995.<br />
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The USS Prairie (AD-15). The Prairie was commissioned on August 5, 1940. It was decommissioned March 26, 1993.<br />
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The USS Dixie (AD-14) received the distinction in April 1981. The Dixie was commissioned on April 25, 1940. It was decommissioned in 1982. Click here for more about the Dixie flying the First Navy Jack.<br />
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On June 3, 1999, the Secretary of the Navy authorized submarines and submarine tenders to fly a special Submarine Centennial Jack throughout the year 2000 in honor of the U. S. Submarine Force's Centennial. This marks the first occasion since 1775 that a specific class of ships has been so honored.<br />
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On May 22, 2002, the U.S. Navy ordered all ships to display the First Navy Jack during the War on Terrorism.