Today is a day for the history books - USS New York comes to NYC to be commissioned.
Mr. Opportunity (from the previous blog), had an amazing idea of getting my husband and another Marine (he asked that I refer to him as the Mexican Sensation) to help him photograph the ship as she was making her way to Pier 88.
The ship would be photographed from both sides of the Hudson River, and once in the ship they were going to have the Captain of the ship do a mock Oath Ceremony with the Poolees. The day was going to be fabulous!!
My husband was going to take the pictures from Battery Park and Pier 88, while Mr. Opportunity and the "Mexican Sensation" were located on the Jersey banks of the Hudson.
They say the ship is the first of its kind. Not only is it the fastest battle ship, it can also hold massive vehicles in the inside, and a few helicopters on the outside. But I will always remember it for its bow, which is made from steel of the World Trade Center. And the 21 gun salute from aboard the ship as it passed Ground Zero.
What better place to bring the ship to for its commissioning. What better way to honor the victims of 9/11 and their families. What better way to show the world, we (America) will move on stronger and mightier, while holding onto (not forgetting) our past.
We were on the FDR trying to get from Battery Park to the Chelsea Pier when we saw the ship sailing right by us. Granted there was traffic, but even as we were flying by it felt like the ship was still moving faster than we were. Craziness!! This ship is NOOOOOO JOKE!!
Like any other day in our lives, there were lots of "are you freakin' serious?" moments through out the day. We were given security clearance to get on top of the building to take pictures of the ship as she pulled into the dock. First we had to explain to a few Marines on site why we were there, who gave us clearance to be there, and why my husband was not in uniform. Then we were stopped by Port Authority officials who were wondering how "civilians" got up there and were taking "lots of" pictures of the ship and the surroundings. Once the ship was docked, we went downstairs to look for Mr. Opportunity and gang who,were waiting outside, for clearance to come in so we can proceed with the mock Oaths.
At this point the Navy reservists who were assigned to guard the front gate wanted to know how we got clearance to get in, and why we were there. It did not seem to matter that we are already inside. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, they decided to kick us out since our names weren't on the Press list. Sad!! They did not care for the fact that we were not the press and we were cleared by Albany and the Gunny onsite to be on board the ship. Finally, they (Mr. Opportunity and gang) talked to some high ranking official of the Navy and got in while my Marine, myself and the two poolees with us had to pack up and leave.
So, for us, the morning excitement died after that incident as we could not get on board of the ship. I guess we will just have to take pride in the fact that we chased her all the way from Battery Park, and saw her up close as she pulled into the dock. Not a lot of people can say that.
Oh and by the way....I had some real "me" moments while I was at the pier. I wanted to take a picture of the gunner standing next to his machine gun so I decided (rather stupid of me) to walk up next to him to take a picture. A few of them came right up to me and asked me to leave as there were lots of ammunitions around there and they did not want me to get hurt. Then I decided to stand next to the news cameramen to take pictures of the ship, and one of them tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to step aside as his camera was a live feed and he did not want my head (my husband claims I've got a big head) in the way. This last incident is the funniest to me. While waiting outside, I saw a man in a suit talking to the radio in his sleeve. I had only seen that in the FBI movies and wanted to take a picture of him. I turned on my camera and then quickly decided against it. A few seconds later he called me over and asked if I had taken a picture of him. I said no. I later found out that he's NCIS!!!! Man, I love that show! Had I known, I would have taken the picture regardless. My marine said he would not even attempt to bail me out if I had gotten in trouble for that. =)
Born and raised outside the US, an attack on the World Trade Center did not have an impact on my life, as I had come to the US the year before for college and was just getting acclimated to my surroundings. Even though it was tragic and scary, it did not leave a scar like it has for most Americans. This was not the case for my husband who joined the Marine Corp as a result of 9/11.
September 11 has indirectly changed my life based on the choices my Marine made.
Please make sure to visit the ship while she is here the rest of this week.
http://www.ussny.org/
Mrs. Sgt. P.
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