Navy Day

Navy Day

Reported By RET C.Brock October 27, 2021

Image credit: US Navy

Today, the United States celebrates Navy Day, highlighting the importance of the US Navy and its sailors to the nation.

Navy Day was first organized in 1922 on October 27. The Navy League, a civilian advocacy group, chose this date because it was the birthday of former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and President Theodore Roosevelt. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy immediately before the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt had ardently supported expansion of the US fleet as a global strategic power.

Cities and towns across the country held celebrations, and over the decades, the US Navy has sent a large number of ships to various ports for public display.

Navy Day 1945 was particularly spectacular, with the Navy sending 47 ships to New York City just over a month after the end of the war. The USS Missouri, upon which the unconditional surrender of Japan was signed, led the fleet into Hudson Bay, leaving many onlookers in awe.

In the decades to follow, naval researchers determined that the US Navy had originally been founded on October 13, 1775. For this reason, the Department of Defense recognized this date as the US Navy Birthday.

Because Navy Day is promoted by a civilian organization, the two dates continue to be celebrated in October each year.

Today the US Navy holds a significant amount of our nation’s military power. Looking ahead to the challenges of the next few decades, Americans can take stock in strategic and tactical capabilities and advantages of the fleet.