Honoring Korea vets and the USS New York
GEDDES -- On this Veterans Day at the New York State Fair, dedication ceremonies on Thursday morning at the memorial area in front of the Horticulture Building: Veterans unveiled a new monument to Korea-era veterans.
At the sand sculpture in the Center of Progress, crew members from the battleship USS New York gathered, for tributes of a different kind. Ken Sparks, from Cazenovia, who ran some of the ship's big anti-aircraft guns, reminisced about his tour aboard, from October, 1943 to January, 1946. Part of that time was spent in training exercises in the Chesapeake Bay, but Sparkes says the battleship saw action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Also at the gathering, crew members from the U S S New York, which is due to be commissioned this fall. Her captain, Commander Curt Jones, is a Binghamton native who says there's no bigger honor than to command this ship. The 'new' New York has tons of World Trade Center steel in her hull, and the sand sculpture includes images of the buildings on the hull of the ship. Commander Jones says every member of the crew is aware of the legacy. The ship is designed to be a 'first responder,' carrying marines and their equipment to beachheads, or also humanitarian missions. Jones says that also carries the legacy of the first responders who perished on 9-11.
The ship will be commissioned in New York harbor on November 7th, and the battleship crew members plan to be there to watch the ceremony, and see the 'New York' naval tradition continued.
For more on the USS New York (LPD 21) check www.USSNY.org
