Overfalls sponsors Battleship New Jersey presentation and ship tour
The Overfalls Foundation is sponsoring a tour of the Battleship New Jersey in Camden Saturday, June 25. The charter bus will depart from the Five Points Food Lion at 8 a.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. The tour is open to Overfalls members and non-members.
Two weeks prior to the tour, Friday, June 10, at the Overfalls general membership meeting at St Peter's Hall, Jason Hall, curator for the USS New Jersey, will make a presentation about the battleship. He will delve into the history of the battleship from her commissioning (the first of four) in 1943, its epic battle campaigns to its retired life today, moored on the Delaware River in Camden, N.J. He will discuss the critical role she played in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, and why she was the most feared ship ever to stalk the seas.
Using photographs, and a few possible surprise artifacts, he will describe the battleship's massive size, from the engines to its famed nine, 16-inch guns mounted in three turrets. For example, just one of the New Jersey's turrets weighs more than four times the entire weight of the Lightship Overfalls. At the conclusion of his presentation, Hall and Jack Willard, senior vice president for the Battleship New Jersey, who will be accompanying Hall, will answer questions.
Hall has long held an interest in history, particularly regarding U.S. military services. He has a degree in American Military History, and has served at six different locations, among them, the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, in Massachusetts, Virginia's Manassas Museum System and The National Guard Educational Foundation Museum, Washington, D.C. He has been with the Battleship New Jersey since 2007.
For those interested in the June 25 tour to the USS New Jersey in Camden, the tour will be approximately 90 minutes long and will proceed through the battleship's gun turrets and other weapons systems, the admiral's and captain's cabins, communications center, navigational bridge, ward room, berthing area and more. Lunch will be available at the visitor's expense from the chow line aboard ship in the crew's mess. The chow line serves hot dogs, sandwiches, snacks and drinks.
The price for adults, including bus and admission, is $40 for Overfalls members and $50 for nonmembers. Children, age 11 and younger, are $30 and $35 respectively. Checks payable to the Overfalls Foundation, should be mailed to the Overfalls Foundation, P.O. Box 413, Lewes DE 19958.
Online credit card payments may be made at www.overfalls.org. People can also sign up and pay for the tour at the June 10 presentation.
