Ceremony to be held in the Charlestown Navy Yard on the
World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young
WHAT: Pearl Harbor Survivors and Friends Memorial Service
WHEN: Wednesday, December 7, 2011 from 12:30—1:00 p.m.
WHERE: USS Cassin Young, Pier 1, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston National Historical Park
WHO: Boston National Historical Park Superintendent Cassius Cash,
USS Constitution Captain Matthew Bonner, Pearl Harbor Survivor Don Tabbut
Boston National Historical Park will host a memorial service on the bow of the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young in the Charlestown Navy Yard on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. to commemorate the 1941 surprise attack by the Japanese on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. USS Cassin Young is named for U.S. Navy Commander Cassin Young who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Although USS Cassin Young was built at San Pedro, California, she is typical of the many Fletcher-class destroyers constructed in the Charlestown Navy Yard during World War II. The ship was commissioned at the end of 1943 and first saw action in the Pacific in early 1944. USS Cassin Young took part in the landings in the Philippines, rescued survivors from the stricken carrier USS Princeton, and screened the American force that sank four Japanese carriers in the battle of Cape Engano.
Off Okinawa, USS Cassin Young survived two separate kamikaze hits, one of which killed 22 crewmembers. The ship was recalled to service in 1951 and underwent modernization at Boston Naval Shipyard on several occasions during the next decade before finally hauling down its commissioning pennant in 1960. USS Cassin Young has been at Boston National Historical Park in the Charlestown Navy Yard since 1978, where the National Park Service and many dedicated volunteers maintain the ship as a living memorial to the thousands of men and women who built, repaired, and served on Navy ships throughout American history.
Boston National Historical Park is a unique collaboration of federally, municipally, and privately owned and operated historic sites associated with the colonial struggle for independence and the birth and growth of the nation. These nationally significant attractions include the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, the Bunker Hill Monument, the Bunker Hill Museum, Dorchester Heights, and the Charlestown Navy Yard including USS Constitution, the USS Constitution Museum, and USS Cassin Young.
