Thursday, 4:30 PM
Naval destroyer coming for St. Patrick's Day
(US Navy)
More than 300 sailors are expected to join Boston's St. Patrick's Day festivities this weekend when they arrive aboard the USS Donald Cook, a Naval destroyer scheduled to dock Friday afternoon at the Massport Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal.
By Globe Staff
A Naval destroyer will motor into Boston Harbor this weekend for St. Patrick's Day, bringing more than 300 sailors to the city and giving the public an opportunity to tour the ship that fired the first Tomahawk cruise missile of the Iraqi war in 2003.
The USS Donald Cook is 505 feet long and weighs over 8,000 tons. Built by Bath Ironworks in Maine, it was commissioned on December 4, 1998, in honor of a decorated Marine Corps colonel who died in Vietnam. Donald G. Cook, 33, was a Brooklyn, N.Y. native who was awarded the Medal of Honor after his death for what the Navy described as extraordinary courage while a prisoner of war.
The USS Donald Cook will be visible from Castle Island at 3:30 p.m. on Friday as it docks at Massport Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal. The ship will be open for free public tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday. The ship is not handicapped accessible and visitors must be at least 6 years old.
