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A weeklong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy and Marines got underway in Philadelphia today with a parade of ships and a military flyover along the Delaware River.
Hundreds lined the shores of the river to see the ships, including an amphibious transport, the USS Arlington; a guided missile destroyer, the USS Lassin; and a pair of littoral combat ships, the USS Billings and the USS Cooperstown. The ships were escorted up the river surrounded by fire fighting boats turned into fountains.
A group of military jets also flew escorts along with a pair of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to the delight of hundreds at the edge of the river.
A Navy flyover precedes the arrival of the ISS Arlington during the parade of ships on the Delaware River while the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps celebrate their 250th anniversary at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
The weeklong Homecoming 250 event marks the formation of the U.S. Navy by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 1775. The Marines were founded a short time later, on Nov. 10, also in Philadelphia.
George Leone, who chairs the event’s planning committee, seemed close to tears as he spoke about the effort to celebrate the milestone.
“Camden built ships for the Navy in like there was no tomorrow in the second World War,” he said. “This city and this area support the military with heroes and service members for so many years.”
One of the many service members in attendance was Clyde Woltman, who retired as a naval aviator. He remembers serving on similar vessels to the ones participating in the parade.
“When I’ve gone into combat we don’t fly there, we get on ships. I spent a lot of time on amphibs, that’s my heritage,” Woltman said.
Phillip Galucci served in two wars as a Navy corpsman. He says the parade of military vessels moved him deeply and harkened back to his 24 years serving and helping to save lives.
“I don’t know how to express it, but having been a hospital corpsman, there’s the care of patients, the prevention and being able to be responsible for the health of all who I served with,” he said.
