Ken Kirsch speaks of the USS New Jersey as if it were a warm old friend rather than a cold, steel military piece of equipment. “I love this ship,” said Kirsch, who served in the U.S. Navy for four years (1966-70).
“It’s the best ship I’ve ever been on. She’s been a part of my life for two years. Now she’s a part of me.”
Mr. Kirsch served as a mechanic on the USS New Jersey from 1967 to 1969, when the battleship supported land operations during the Vietnam War.
Navy SEAL Coaching Program Offers a ‘Complete Reset’ of Health and Wellness: ‘Nothing short of life-changing’
Well, I’m planning to ride Big J again on Thursday. The ship is scheduled to depart from its Camden, N.J., anchorage at 12:10 p.m., her first time since arriving in 2000.
This fearsome dreadnought is now the centerpiece of the New Jersey Battleship Museum and Memorial.
The USS New Jersey fires a volley while deployed off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, January 9, 1984. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images)
She is being towed 6 miles down the Delaware River for dry dock maintenance at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
The New Jerseyan plans to return to Camden within two months.
Kirsch, a former machinist, fired the gun as the USS New Jersey left its home port and will fire again in response to a salute from Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.
“It’s a historic homecoming.”
“This is a historic return,” Marshall Spevak, CEO of the nonprofit Homeport Alliance, which operates the ship, told Fox News Digital.
He said visitors will have a unique opportunity to walk beneath the battleship in dry dock in Philadelphia.
Ken Kirsch (left) and his grandson Dakota Sherin aboard the USS New Jersey, circa 2010. Kirsch, a U.S. Navy veteran, served on a battleship during the Vietnam War and has worked at the USS New Jersey Museum in Camden, New Jersey since 2001. . (Courtesy of Ken Kirsch)
USS New Jersey was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on December 7, 1942. This was exactly one year after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World War II.
“She supported every amphibious operation in the Pacific War from 1943 onwards,” Spevak said.
Introducing the American sailor who rowed across Delaware from Washington on Christmas: John Glover.
She had an unprecedented career of service, serving 21 years over 60 years.
USS New Jersey fought in the Korean War, entered the reserve, and was recommissioned for service in Vietnam.
President Ronald Reagan speaks at the recommissioning ceremony of the USS New Jersey on December 28, 1982 at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California. It was her fourth recommissioning of the battleship. (Bob Riha Jr./Getty Images)
Cannon vessels were considered to be a relic of outdated naval warfare, and by the late 1960s they were already the last active battleships.
However, the USS New Jersey was modernized and recommissioned again in 1981 as part of President Ronald Reagan’s pledge to create a “600-ship Navy.”
“Working Man” Introducing the American and Irish ironsmith George Taylor, the founding father of the nation.
The battleship was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Lebanese civil war in 1984, firing hundreds of shells at Syrian military positions.
The battleship remained in service until 1990, arriving at her home base in Camden in 2000. The Battleship New Jersey Museum opened in October 2001.
USS New Jersey was launched in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 7, 1942, one year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At 45,000 tons, the Iowa-class ships were the largest battleships in the U.S. Navy. (Getty Images)
“She is the most decorated battleship of all time, the longest battleship of all time, and the fastest battleship of all time,” said Kirsch, who has been with the New Jersey Battleship Museum since its inception.
He was on board the ship in 1968, sailing at 35.2 knots, just over 40 miles per hour.
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
But it wasn’t his impressive ability, courage, or combat history that endeared Petty Officer 2nd Class Karsh to the USS New Jersey.
It was her captain and crew.
Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial in Camden, New Jersey. (Courtesy of Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial)
“When I came to New Jersey, the crew was young but veteran,” he said. “Everyone worked together. There was harmony in the way we worked. It was a family atmosphere.”
He remains loyally devoted to Captain J. Edward Snyder, who was a 44-year-old World War II veteran when he left for Vietnam on the aircraft carrier USS New Jersey in 1968.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He was a crew captain. He took care of his crew. He really took care of his men. He made everything better on that ship.”
For more lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle..
