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NAVY DAY - October 27th

 
In 1922, the Navy League of the United Stated selected October 27th as 'Navy Day', a day in which to recognize and celebrate our Naval Forces.   Chaired by former Navy League National President Breckenridge, the first national Navy Day celebration was held that year with Navy shore stations and ships hosting 'open houses' across the nation.  With great pride and enthusiasm, people gathered to see the Navy on display!
 
The Secretary of the Navy, Edwin Denby, received the following note from President Warren Harding at that time:
 
"Thank you for your note which brings assurance of the notable success which seems certain to attend the celebration of Navy Day on Friday, October 27, in commemoration of past and present services of the Navy. From our earliest national beginnings the Navy has always been, and deserved to be, an object of special pride to the American people. Its record is indeed one to inspire such sentiments, and I am very sure that such a commemoration as is planned will be a timely reminder."
 
"It is well for us to have in mind that under a program of lessening naval armaments there is a greater reason for maintaining the highest efficiency, fitness and morale in this branch of the national defensive service. I know how earnestly the Navy personnel are devoted to this idea and want you to be assured of my hearty concurrence."
 
President Calvin Coolidge, Harding's successor, continued support of Navy Day and our Naval Forces, stating in a letter dated August 29, 1923, that our United States Navy is our nation's "first line of defense".
 
Chief of Naval Operations designate Navy Day (10/27) and the Navy Birthday (10/13) to be the two dates to be celebrated Navy wide on an annual basis.  Parades, educational lectures, government proclamations, and celebrations sometimes lasting several days, have given rise to a greater appreciation for our Navy and Naval heritage as we have marked the celebration of Navy Day across our country.
 
The specific date for this special day of honor and celebration was selected by the Navy League in recognition of the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, who had served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and who adamantly supported the concept of Navy Day and the ideals of the United States Navy.  October 27th was also the anniversary date of the report issued by a special committee of the Continental Congress in 1775 calling for the purchase of merchant ships which established our Continental Navy.   
 
Though attempts have been made over the years to move the celebration of Navy Day to October 13, the 'Birthday of the Navy' and even to 'Armed Forces Day' which is celebrated in May, it remains recognized on October 27th.  In 1945, the October 27th celebration coincided with the return of hundreds of naval ships to the continental United States after their overseas service in WWII.   President Harry S. Truman reviewed the fleet in the New York Harbor, joined in the parade and other festivities, and delivered his 'Navy Address' to the nation in which he paid tribute to the men and women of the United States Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard and the ships which had carried them to victory in the war.  President Truman's address can be found here:  http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3342  
 
Though many countries establish a date on which to celebrate and honor their own Naval Forces, the United States Navy has remained the largest and most powerful Navy in the world since WWII.  A branch of the United States Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy includes the United States Marine Corps and during wartime engagement, the United States Coast Guard.  It is headed by the Secretary of the Navy and is the branch of our military force responsible for defending  our nation at sea and maintaining security on the seas wherever United States interests extend.

~ Rev. Lin