BOSTON -- Marines with 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, helped commemorate the birthday of the U.S. Navy by setting sail on the USS Constitution from the Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Oct. 20, 2017.
The USS Constitution set sail in Boston for the first time since October 2014 and will travel to Fort Independence on Castle Island where it fired a 21-gun salute. It took two years for officials to complete repairs on the ship and the repairs were finished in July of this year.
"By doing the restoration project, we're ensuring that we're going to continue on being a part of the Navy, a part of the fleet," said Cmdr. Robert Gerosa, the commanding officer of the USS Constitution.
The warship, named by George Washington, commemorated the U.S. Navy’s 242nd birthday and the 220th anniversary of the Constitution’s launch by sailing from the Charlestown Navy Yard to Castle Island which was the warships maiden voyage.
The USS Constitution could carry 450 personnel, including 55 Marines that could provide security for the ship in 1797.
“Back then, U.S. Marines would provide security on the ship,” said Staff Sgt. Jovanny Cosme, an intelligence analyst with 1/25 and participant of the demonstration. “Today, we will be posting up, manning the ship’s edges and providing a display for the ships tour.”
The Marines and sailors involved in the demonstration of the world’s oldest commissioned warship will sail to Fort Independence on Castle Island, where it fired an additional 17-gun salute as the ship passes the U.S. Coast Guard station, the former site of the shipyard where the Constitution was built and launched in 1797.