thedrifter
05-21-08, 07:29 AM
Our brave sailors and Marines are ready to paint the town white
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, May 21st 2008, 4:00 AM
Fleet's in!
New Yorkers will head to the waterfront on Wednesday to welcome thousands of sailors and Marines as they head up the Hudson River to dock here for the annual Fleet Week celebration.
Five Navy ships, two Coast Guard cutters and three Canadian maritime ships will sail into New York Harbor on Wednesday morning and head north to Pier 88 at 47th St.
"Fleet Week in New York City is a great opportunity for the American public to meet their Navy, Marines and Coast Guard teams," said Navy spokesman Chris Zendan. "It's also a great opportunity for the sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to enjoy the city and the appreciation of its citizens."
The flotilla can be seen anywhere along the Hudson River, from the Verrazano Bridge to the George Washington Bridge.
As the ships pass by lower Manhattan, they'll lower their flags and the sailors and Marines will stand at attention in honor of the victims of 9/11.
Among the ships docking in Manhattan for the week will be the Kearsarge.
"She was just here two years ago," Zendan said. "In that short time, she's been performing some great missions."
The 844-foot-long, 40,500-ton warship recently returned from Bangladesh, where it provided humanitarian aid to cyclone victims. The ship also evacuated Americans from Sierra Leone last year.
The Kearsarge will also be carrying an Osprey, a $70 million aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like a plane. The Marines just began using it in Iraq for the first time since the war began.
Marines aboard the ship just returned home from a tour in western Iraq.
The Leyte Gulf will also dock at Pier 88. The Monterey, Nitze and The Sullivans will dock at the Stapleton Pier in Staten Island.
Visitors can board the ships and participate in a slew of activities across the five boroughs all week.
See www.fleetweek.navy.mil for a schedule of events.
sgaskell@nydailynews.com
Ellie
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, May 21st 2008, 4:00 AM
Fleet's in!
New Yorkers will head to the waterfront on Wednesday to welcome thousands of sailors and Marines as they head up the Hudson River to dock here for the annual Fleet Week celebration.
Five Navy ships, two Coast Guard cutters and three Canadian maritime ships will sail into New York Harbor on Wednesday morning and head north to Pier 88 at 47th St.
"Fleet Week in New York City is a great opportunity for the American public to meet their Navy, Marines and Coast Guard teams," said Navy spokesman Chris Zendan. "It's also a great opportunity for the sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to enjoy the city and the appreciation of its citizens."
The flotilla can be seen anywhere along the Hudson River, from the Verrazano Bridge to the George Washington Bridge.
As the ships pass by lower Manhattan, they'll lower their flags and the sailors and Marines will stand at attention in honor of the victims of 9/11.
Among the ships docking in Manhattan for the week will be the Kearsarge.
"She was just here two years ago," Zendan said. "In that short time, she's been performing some great missions."
The 844-foot-long, 40,500-ton warship recently returned from Bangladesh, where it provided humanitarian aid to cyclone victims. The ship also evacuated Americans from Sierra Leone last year.
The Kearsarge will also be carrying an Osprey, a $70 million aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like a plane. The Marines just began using it in Iraq for the first time since the war began.
Marines aboard the ship just returned home from a tour in western Iraq.
The Leyte Gulf will also dock at Pier 88. The Monterey, Nitze and The Sullivans will dock at the Stapleton Pier in Staten Island.
Visitors can board the ships and participate in a slew of activities across the five boroughs all week.
See www.fleetweek.navy.mil for a schedule of events.
sgaskell@nydailynews.com
Ellie