In Today’s Update…
Click the links to jump right to each section:
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS Awards Are On The Horizon
We’re excited to announce our 2023 Freedom of the Seas Awards Dinner. Keep an eye on this update and our socials in the next few weeks to get to know the outstanding group we’re honoring this year!
Recognizing the trailblazers inspiring the next generation through service, innovation, and leadership.
Interested in becoming an event or table sponsor? Contact Kyle at kaube@surfacenavymuseum.org.
IOWA OPS TEAM: Inspiring Through Innovation
You don’t wake up one morning, decide you’re going to move a 2,000 ton object that has sat in place for over thirty years, and simply go do it. An operation of that magnitude demands research, planning, and collaboration – not to mention a whole lot of ambition.
It takes the combined efforts of a remarkable team – a team whose expertise has been forged in years of technical training and hands-on experience. And it requires that team to improvise work-arounds for the usual ways of doing things.
How do we find individuals with the necessary skills? By creating an atmosphere people are inspired to be part of.
This trailblazing project is just one example of what our operations team is capable of. In the past three weeks, donors have been so inspired by what they’ve done that over $20,000 has been contributed toward the costs that helped make it possible.
This project is expected to last many more months and we are looking to raise $50,000 in support of the operations team’s efforts.
Your donation to the project will have a direct impact on the hundreds of thousands of guests who come aboard in years to come. We are grateful for your consideration of making these remarkable experiences possible.
SPEAKER SERIES: Judge Rick King This Saturday
His Friends Died As Heroes In Vietnam. Fifty Years Later, This Judge Returned To The Same Spot With Their Families.
Join us this Saturday, July 28 at 7 PM for an extraordinary evening aboard Battleship IOWA.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Rick King entered the Navy at eighteen in 1965. By age twenty he was assigned to a mobile construction battalion, also known as Seabees, as a heavy equipment operator.
During the Tet Offensive of 1968, he was in the northern I-Corp area of South Vietnam rebuilding Highway 1. On March 31, 1968, five of his fellow Seabees died heroically defending against a sustained attack by enemy forces.
Judge King will describe the battle, its aftermath, and his journey across our country to locate the surviving brothers, sisters, daughters, and sons of these brave men. Experience Judge King’s emotional return to Vietnam fifty years later with the relatives of his crew, at the location and precise time they died, to honor their ultimate sacrifices.
Q&A and a meet-and-greet to follow the presentation. This event is FREE to the community. Food and beverages will be available at Vicky’s Doghouse.
Click the button below to RSVP.
AN INCREDIBLE TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY | 80 YEARS AFTER D-DAY
June 6, 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of one of the most pivotal events of the twentieth century: the invasion that landed on the beaches of Normandy. You can visit this powerfully moving area and support Battleship IOWA at the same time.
An unforgettable journey of discovery and remembrance awaits you as you travel between London, Normandy, and Paris.
- Explore London’s connections to World War II during a city tour focused on The Blitz. Cross the English Channel, retracing the parallel journey nearly 160,000 courageous Allied troops took on June 6th, 1944, as they set out to liberate Europe from the Nazis.
- Immerse yourself in the history of Normandy’s D-Day landing beaches, and visit the Normandy American Cemetery.
- See Saint-Mère-Église, the first French town liberated from the Nazis and learn about the brave paratroopers who parachuted into Normandy on the night of June 5–6, 1944.
- Conclude your journey in Paris, the City of Light with a festive dinner cruise along the Seine River.
A portion of the proceeds from your tour will be directed to Battleship IOWA, and help us continue to keep alive the history of this world-altering time.
For more information about this trip, please click here.
And to sign up for a Q&A webinar, click the button below.
NOTE: If you prefer not to donate electronically, please mail your check to:
Attention: Development Department, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro, CA 90731
Thank you to our 2021 donors for their generosity and support. Want to know how your donations are making a difference? Check out our ANNUAL REPORT here.
Join the over 10,000 individuals who have registered as Plank Owners of the National Museum of the Surface Navy. Your donations to the campaign and advocacy of Freedom of the Seas are helping educate, honor, and inspire future generations.
From now until September 30, 2023, use the promo code NMSN23 and get an EXTRA 3 MONTHS added to your membership! Click below to learn more and join.
