The U.S. Navy’s Two Birthdays

    By Jordon Blystone

            Navy Day was the official birthday of the United States Navy, this holiday was last celebrated on October 27^th, and is celebrated every year. There has been a debate on when the Navy’s birthday was since there have been multiple documents suggesting that the Navy was founded on October 13^th but they insisted they kept it October 27^th in order for it to celebrate U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. Roosevelt was also an Assistant Secretary of the Navy for two years. However, that was not the only reason the date went unchanged for the duration of WW2, it was believed that the 1775 report issued by the Special Committee of the Continental Congress was the first report or file the Navy issued.

This file was for the official purchase of merchant ships marking the foundation of the U.S. Navy. They then would find a document containing the formation of the Continental Navy on October 13^th, 1775. This would change the birthday for the navy which is separated from Navy Day, these are mainly celebrated by the Navy itself or Navy veterans. These are usually celebrated by Destroyer, Carrier, Docking, and Breaching ship parades. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world so it would be important to commemorate them on their capabilities and efforts to maintain and eliminate threats to world peace. In an interview with Landon Bennett, he was asked, “When thinking of the Navy, do you think of the holiday honoring Navy veterans?” Landon responded abruptly with, “When thinking of the Navy I think mainly of the incidents with Pearl Harbor.” This further drills the point of acknowledging their sacrifices for our country and world peace.