Navy sailors get a star-spangled salute
USO fetes Bataan crew in North End
The men and women stationed on the USS Bataan couldn't celebrate Independence Day with their own families yesterday, but the volunteers of the United Service Organizations New England wanted them to feel at home nonetheless.
The USO hosted the crew, along with local active and reserve military personnel from every branch, at its annual Fourth of July celebration at the US Coast Guard base in the North End.
In a flag ceremony during the event, Jean Eastman, the USO's executive director for New England, thanked the service members present for their service.
"We owe you more than thanks," she said. "You exemplify what it means to be Americans."
As "America the Beautiful" and "The Star Spangled Banner" were sung, an honor guard silently unfolded and refolded a soot-covered American flag that flew at the World Trade Center when it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
For Commander Brenda BradleyDavila, the chaplain on the USS Bataan, the opportunity to see the birthplace of the American Revolution "put the meat on the bones" of history.
She and the rest of the 1,100-person crew are in town for a few days for Harborfest and Boston Navy Week. But BradleyDavila said she has already called her husband and told him to return with their grandson.
"This is an absolutely wonderful place to be," said BradleyDavila, who is from Richmond. "I can see the remnants of our country's first beginnings."
Families started arriving at the base early yesterday morning to watch the USS Constitution perform its annual turnaround in Boston Harbor. Before long, grills were fired up, the Red Sox game was on, and children were running around waving American flags and eating cotton candy.
"What better way to spend the holiday than with the military?" said Stacey Carse, whose husband, Joel, is a Coast Guard lieutenant stationed at the base.
A Navy veteran, Carse drove down to Boston from Epping, N.H., with her three children to spend the day.
"The kids love to tell people that their dad is in the Coast Guard," she said. "I think they're really proud."
With a mission to improve morale, welfare, and provide recreation-type services to the men and women in uniform, putting on a top-notch celebration for families and military alike is paramount, Eastman said.
"This could be a lonely day for them," she said. "What we do is convey the thanks of a grateful nation. . . . It's because of them that we enjoy the freedoms we do every day."
Tania deLuzuriaga can be reached at deluzuriaga@globe.com.
