A Month for the Navy

October 13, 2008

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Monday, October 13th. October is definitely the U.S. Navy’s month. The service was authorized on this date in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. One of the nation’s most famous warships, the USS Constitution, known as “Old Ironsides,” was launched in October 1797. This month in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy was established at Annapolis, Maryland. And on October 30, 1882, William Halsey was born. His aggressive pursuit of victory in the Pacific theater in World War II earned him the nickname “Bull,” and the five-star rank of fleet admiral. Today, there are 350,000 men and women in the U.S. Navy, including nearly 51,000 women officers and enlisted personnel. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 512, 507, 523, 533
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 498
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html