Serving on the USS New Jersey, the most decorated battleship in the history of the United States Navy, “really shaped our lives,” a veteran told me.
Yesterday was the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, and today is Veterans Day. It was peculiarly appropriate, therefore, that Marine veterans of the USS New Jersey returned today to their erstwhile duty station to open a new historic exhibit on board and to share their experiences with a new generation.
One veteran admitted to me, “I didn’t understand the historical significance of serving on board ship here until years afterward.” He said he was around 25 years old when he arrived on the WWII-era battleship during its last period of active service in the 1980s. “You’re just here to do a job,” he added, “with a lot of history to it.” But now that the battleship is a museum, he hopes to see more Americans understanding and appreciating the significance of the ship on which he served.
His former shipmate agreed with him. “We just looked on it as another duty station,” he said. “It was a job, and we got sent here to do it.”
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Another veteran told me that it was his first time returning to the battleship since his service on it so many years ago and that it was “a lot to take in.” Coming to serve on the ship as teens, he and other Marines and sailors found their service on the USS New Jersey “really shaped our lives, taking us to other ports … and seeing the world on this ship, [it was] the experience of a lifetime.”
Service on such a ship “gives you a different perspective on things,” he said. In fact, he emphasized, military service in general is life-changing and life shaping. But especially “if you get to travel around while you’re in, you do see the world differently,” he ended.
All of the USS New Jersey veterans to whom I spoke, and Medal of Honor recipient Col. Harvey Barnum, displayed impressive humility and patriotism. They all disclaimed individual merit and instead praised their fellow Marines. They were very proud of their teamwork during their years of active duty service, and even now after retirement. And though they are elderly now, when they belted out the Marines’ Hymn in the confined quarters of the ship’s hold, their voices were as loud and enthusiastic as any new 20-year-old recruit’s.
From the USS New Jersey website:
Sit in the chair from which Admiral Halsey commanded the longest battleship and the 3rd Fleet. Stretch out on the bunks where the sailors slept. Climb into the 16” gun turret and learn how the projectiles were loaded…From World War II to Korea, Vietnam and active duty during the 1980s, this is among the can’t-miss U.S. Navy museum ships open to the public today.
As Ret. Col. Barnum told all of us crammed below deck during the ceremony, the USS New Jersey is just a floating hunk of steel and wires without her crew. It is the sailors and Marines who bring any ship alive, and who truly are more admirable and exceptional than any piece of technology or machinery.
Thank you to all those who served, and God bless our brave veterans.
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