The first “Fleet Week” took place in 1899, when a large number of US Navy vessels sailed in to New York Harbor in celebration of Commodore George Dewey’s success at the Battle of Manila Bay and the end of the Spanish-American War. There were similar events over the years, though the first Fleet Week celebration took place in June,1935. One hundred and fourteen ships and 400 military planes arrived in San Diego as part of the California Pacific International Exposition. A total of 3,000 officers and 55,000 enlisted men spent a week allowing visitors to tour parts of some of the vessels and for many of the men to visit the city and enjoy some shore leave.

Over the years both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets have participated in specific celebrations, such as the US Bicentenary in 1976, and the Centenary for the Statue of Liberty in 1986. However, the first official Fleet Week took place over Memorial Weekend in 1982. The aircraft carriers USS Coral Sea with cruisers, destroyers and other vessels sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, with Navy and Marine helicopters watching from above. In New York, ships passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and sailed by the Statue of Liberty to dock at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal on the Hudson River. In 1988, the Navy allowed people to take tours of certain areas of specific ships.

Since 1982, ships have also spent Memorial Day/Fleet Week in a number of cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, New London, Norfolk, Boston, Baltimore, Port Everglade and Ft. Lauderdale. The ships include naval vessels and aircraft, Marine aircraft and occasionally landing craft, and Coast Guard ships and aircraft. In addition to tours, all three branches of the services provide a variety of demonstrations, from ways various gear is used to methods of hand to hand combat.

One of the things my adult children still talk about is when I took my four-year-old son to tour a cruiser that was moored in Seattle one Fleet Week. He had a great time dashing up and down the ladders (stairs to landlubbers) and actually learned a lot. Several years later, my father, a Marine officer, took both children to see an aircraft carrier moored in New York City for Fleet Week. My daughter was amazed at the side of the ship. And being able to see how the planes are moved onto the deck was the highlight of their Memorial Day!

In 2020, Fleet Week was suspended, like most everything else, because of Covid-19. Last year there was a virtual version, and while it was very well done, it wasn’t the same. Thankfully this year there will be a real Fleet Week. I hope you can visit one of them, because it’s a wonderful way to celebrate Memorial Day.