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Posted by: thepinetree on 03/10/2010 09:49 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 03/12/2010 09:28 PM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Flag that from USS Constitution to fly from Union-Democrat during the WHVVD Parade
Sonora, CA.....A U.S. Flag that flew from the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy on the nation’s 200th birthday and owned by retired Navy Chief Petty Officer George Eldridge, will be flown from the staff of the Union Democrat on Washington Street during the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day Parade scheduled for March 28 at 1 p.m....
According to Eldridge, “I’m one of a handful of enlisted men who have a flag that flew on Old Ironsides (USS Constitution). This parade is a historic event for Sonora and I thought it appropriate that a ship launched in the late 1700s and is still a commissioned ship of the U.S. Navy would be appropriate to fly during the Parade.”
The USS Constitution was one of six frigates authorized for construction by Congress in 1794. Built in Boston of resilient live oak, Consitution’s planks were up to seven inches thick. Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place as well as the copper sheating that protected the hull. The ship was launched on October 21, 1797 and she first put to sea in July 1798 under Captain Edward Preble. She patrolled the North African coast for two years. In her battles under Captain Isaac Hull in the War of 1812, the British noticed that cannon balls seemed to bounce off her sides and she attained the nickname “Old Ironsides”.
She is still a commissioned ship of the U.S. Navy and is the oldest commissioned ship in the world.
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