New Year's Eve is always memorable on 'Big J'
With a spectacular display of fireworks bursting over the Camden waterfront, the Battleship New Jersey ushered in another year with glory deserving of the world's most decorated warship.
With a spectacular display of fireworks bursting over the Camden waterfront, the Battleship New Jersey ushered in another year with glory deserving of the world's most decorated warship.
Each year, an average of 2,000 visitors hit the deck on New Year's Eve to tour the ship and catch the fireworks displays at 6 p.m. and midnight. Dozens of spectators turn the night into a historical adventure, eating dinner and breakfast on the chow line and sleeping in bunks as sailors did from World War II through the ship's final mission in 1989 in the Persian Gulf.
World War II veteran Russell Collins, 90, recalled the day in 1946 when he left the battleship for the last time in Long Beach, Calif. He served as an ammunition loader, hitting targets in Japan "dead on" 23 miles from shore."
In California, "I said to her, 'I'll never see you again, baby.' I was glad to see her come to New Jersey," said Collins, now a battleship volunteer in the tool room. On Thursday, he reported for duty to help with holiday events.
Philip Rowan, CEO and executive director of the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, said the ship, docked in Camden since 2001, attracts about 120,000 visitors for special events each year, with the Fourth of July drawing among the largest crowds.
"Our primary goal is to educate the public in New Jersey and America, in that she played a role in preserving our liberty and our freedom," Rowan said. "She's really a living tribute."
In the late 1990s, the ship's location in retirement was the subject of a feud between Camden and North Jersey's Liberty State Park. Officials there hoped to dock the ship near Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. There was strong opposition to a Camden location, and fears that not enough money could be raised to support the ship.
And indeed, there have been financial struggles. But Rowan said the ship now has a $4 million budget and brings in about $4.2 million a year, which includes $1.4 million in state aid. Other income comes from events, donations, and renting rooms for parties and meetings.
So the Philadelphia skyline rises above the battleship, with the Liberty Bell nearby. The Big J also is close to the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where it was built.
Before the New Jersey was put into commission a year after the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States had been losing battles to Japan's powerful fleet, Rowan said. The U.S. military "were going into the Pacific not knowing what they were going into," Rowan said.
The New Jersey went on to become the world's most decorated ship, with 19 battle stars and a reputation as America's heavy hitter.
Today, Big J is among nine battleship museums. Eight are in the U.S. Japan has one.
The New Jersey also saw service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and in the Middle East. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan put the battleship into service "confronting the evil empire" of the Soviet Union, Rowan said.
For veterans who served on or beside the battleship, the memories remain vivid. Former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North said the battleship saved his life. He recalled patrolling with 25 Marines and two Army tanks when they came under attack by hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers. The battleship launched an attack with its five-inch guns, then the 16-inch guns. That stopped the enemy.
Veterans also have described how the battleship sounded like a freight train and shook the ground while shelling enemy troops.
Rowan said events on the battleship now include tributes to those in the military, current and former. Several veterans have kissed the deck as they boarded, he said. One veteran went to Camden by medical transport, Rowan said. He was brought on board on a gurney because he wanted to be on deck "one last time." He then donated his Japanese rifles to the museum.
Editor's Note: This story was revised to remove the erroneous recollection of a veteran who said he saw the USS New Jersey at sea in 1973. The ship was decommissioned between 1969 and 1980 and was "mothballed" during that time.
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