USS STERETT DDG 104

US Navy Honors a York, PA Family

US Navy honors family

The Navy's newest destroyer is named after a York family's ancestor.

By JEFF FRANTZ
Daily Record/Sunday News

Article Last Updated: 08/10/2008 05:14:59 AM EDT

Michelle Bermson talks with the media Friday in front of the USS Sterett, the Navy's newest Destroyer named after her ancestor, naval hero Andrew Sterett. The ship is in Baltimore for its commissioning. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Bil Bowden)

BALTIMORE - From the docks, the USS Sterett looks like a Cezanne painting of a ship, rising from the harbor one gray block set atop another, capped with half-circles and domes.

From the top-side decks, the U.S. Navy's newest destroyer offers an expansive feel, suggesting a space as wide as the open sea. Inside the steel hull, a narrow maze of steep staircases and circular doors lead sailors from sleeping quarters to the seats manning the AEGIS weapons system.

Standing on the rear quarter-deck Friday afternoon, the Sterett family beamed with pride at the ship named for Andrew Sterett, an 18th-century hero of the American Navy. Because Sterett was a Baltimore native, the Navy decided to bring the ship here for the commissioning, which

The USS Sterett's motto, 'Forever Dauntless,' is displayed on a floor mat depicting the Destroyer's crest.
(Daily Record/Sunday News - Bil Bowden)

was scheduled for Saturday night.

When approached about the ship, the family members always asked a question: "Have you taken a tour?"

Kent and Diana Sterett of York County have followed the ship's progress since the keel was laid in 2005 in Bath, Maine. The change since then has been overwhelming.

"It was more like an ant farm with hundreds of people working on it, now it's pretty much spotless," Kent Sterett said.

The family has boxes of memorabilia from Kent Sterett's father and great-grandfather from when two of the Navy's previous USS Steretts were commissioned. Once again, the family is involved in the process.

About 50 members of the extended Sterett family traveled to Baltimore for the weekend's ceremonies.

Diana Sterett is one of the ship's two matrons, an honorary title.

Her daughter, Michelle Bermson, is the ship's sponsor. She smashed the champagne bottle to christen the ship in May 2007 and her daughter, Amelia, is expected to be baptized in the ship's bell this morning, which tradition says will bring good luck to the sailors.

"It sort of brings it full circle a year after christening the ship," Bermson said.

Crew members hosted a cookout for the family Thursday afternoon and many of the sailors went out with the Sterett family that night. At Friday's dress rehearsal, Michelle practiced her key line in the commissioning ceremony: "Officers and crew of the USS Sterett, man our ship and bring her to life."

When she first received a letter asking her to be the sponsor, Bermson didn't fully grasp the honor associated with the position. After a friend in the Navy explained the significance, she accepted. She flew in from Seattle, where she lives, for this week's events.

"I think the best part is the ship's got the crew on board, so it's really come to life," Bermson said. "Being able to walk around the ship and see all the new crew members and see the equipment come to life really is the best part of it."

She plans to make Christmas cookies for the crew and hopes to visit the sailors every few years when the Sterett is in a convenient port or its home station in San Diego.

"Even though the christening was fun and the commissioning is going to be great, I'm really looking forward to the next 30 years and getting to know her sailors," Bermson said.

jfrantz@ydr.com; 771-2062

 

USS   STERETT

--- Length: 509.5 feet

--- Displacement: 9,180 tons

--- Speed: 30+ knots

--- Crew and officers: 287

--- Carries 500,000 gallons of fuel and more than 15,000 gallons of potable water.

--- Cost: $1.4 billion

-- Source: U.S. Navy

 

PREVIOUS STERETTS

 

--- USS Sterett DD-27: Commissioned in 1910 in Boston, she patrolled the east coast and conducted Caribbean exercises until being decommissioned in 1919.

--- USS Sterett DD-407: Commissioned in 1939, she saw extensive action in World War II, serving in both the European and Pacific theaters. The destroyer earned 12 battle stars, having survived a point-blank attack from a Japanese battleship and a direct hit from a kamikaze airplane.

--- USS Sterett DLG-31/CG-31: The Belknapp-class destroyer leader/cruiser earned nine battle stars for service in Vietnam, most notably for shooting down a North Vietnamese MiG-17.

-- Source: U.S. Navy

 

LT. ANDREW STERETT

Born in Baltimore to a successful shipping merchant, Sterett joined the Navy in 1798 and commanded a gun battery on the frigate Constellation during the undeclared war with France, during which the U.S. won its first naval battle against the French frigate L'Insurgente.

In 1800, Sterett assumed command of the schooner Enterprise, the first ship in the Navy fleet to bear the name.

He sailed the Enterprise to the Mediterranean to battle the Barbary pirates, defeating the pirate warship Tripoli. President Thomas Jefferson later presented Sterett with a sword for his heroism.

-- Source: U.S. Navy
The USS Sterett's motto, 'Forever Dauntless,' is displayed on a floor mat depicting the Destroyer's crest.

The Sterett family, led by Michelle Bermson, leaves the ship for dry land Friday.

Poem that accompanied Sterett-Gittings Kelsey's bronze angel "Joy"

Dearest One
I am counting on you.
Keep the light of Liberty bright.
I so appreciate what you are doing for me.   
I miss you Sweetheart.
You make the Sun shine.
I am with you now …
Every step of the way.
Keeping you close,
In my thoughts,
In my prayers.
Cherished above all
You are precious to me.
Come home safely …
Come home soon  …
All my love …..
America
Sterett-Gittings  Kelsey

Instructions for downloading any image

All the images on my site may be downloaded for printing by clicking on the thumbnail and then clicking on Download. They are of sufficient size to make a 8 X 10 print!

Note there are three different tabs for the Reception, Waterside and Commissioning!

Enjoy!

After Commissioning dinner @ G & M Crab cakes

After a long day of boating and Commissioning events, it was time to think about dinner, and of course we wanted crab cakes. The hotel dining room was closed when we set out for the best crab cakes Baltimore has to offer, G & M! They were located very near our hotel, but we arrived only minutes before the 11:00PM closing time to be seated. What a feast! The biggest and most flavorful cakes the Chesapeake has to offer!

                             

Man our ship and bring her to life!

With those words, Sponsor Michelle Sterett Bernson brought Sterett's crew running from the pier to man the rails amid the sounds of the ship's horn, claxon and every bell and whistle she could muster!
In attendance were Governor O'Malley, Senator Milkulski  Navy Secretary Winter and top brass from the Navy and the shipbuilder Bath Iron Works, plus the all the subcontractors who helped build the newest STERETT.

Even the spirit of Andrew Sterett appeared out of the smoke of the Constellation's cannon salute to the new STERETT.  Images of the Commissioning

 

       

baltimoresun.com

               

USS Sterett unveiled, set to sail

                                         

By Euna Lhee

                            

Sun Reporter

                          

August 10, 2008

                   

The USS Sterett, the Navy's newest $1.3 billion guided-missile destroyer, was commissioned in the Port of Baltimore yesterday evening in an hourlong ceremony, complete with cannon fire and marching band performances.

The warship was berthed at South Locust Point Cruise Terminal, next to the historic Constellation, which was moved from its usual Inner Harbor mooring for the occasion.

Those in attendance included Gov. Martin O'Malley, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin F. O'Brien. Greg Sterett, a descendant of the ship's namesake, boarded the ship in Colonial garb.

Navy officials addressed the crowd of several thousand, which included active members of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Named for Baltimore-born 19th-century naval officer Andrew Sterett, the Sterett is the first major naval ship to be commissioned here in nearly 25 years. It has a crew of 280.

The vessel's radar can pick up objects as small as a fly and detect potential hazards more than 100 miles away.

The Sterett, which took four years to build, left its shipyard in Bath, Maine, at the end of June for a month of at-sea testing and arrived in Baltimore last week. It will leave the city tomorrow and sail to its home port in San Diego.

                    

 

Sterett waterside and Francis Scott Key slideshow

Our harbor cruise . . .

Sterett waterside and Francis Scott Key

Larry and Ron, our new friends from PA with the boat, took us on a speed tour of the harbor which included a spin around a special buoy by Key Bridge that marks the spot where Francis Scott Key was imprisoned on a British  prison ship when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner!

After that we went alongside Sterett and Constellation (from a safe distance as the ship had an armed boat in the water) to see the ships moored nose-to-nose.

Back at the marina we tried to pay Ron and Larry, but they refused any payment. We did treat them to lunch a left $20 on an open bar bill for them. Two nice guys made our day!

Sterett waterside

 

A few of us decided to hire a boat and take a few photos of Sterett and Constellation from the water.
After many calls to find a boat with no luck, we stopped at a little Tikki bar near a marina on Fells Point for a beer.  Two guys from PA with a boat took an interest in our tale of woe and offered to take is out for  a look. Pictures to follow! Ron the boat guy  is at the end of the table.

Reception at Baltimore Museum of Industry

Last night the Commissioning Committee hosted a reception right on the inner harbor to celebrate the commissioning of STERETT. Several hundred donors, crew and many of the industry partners who helped build the ship were present for the formal remarks and presentation of traditional gifts.

Before the speeches the crowd wittness Constellation being moved from her berth in the inner harbor to moor nose-to-nose with STERETT at the cruise ship terminal. An awesome sight to behold.

Here Sponsor Michelle SterettBerson present CDR Eckerle with a gift from the Sterett family, a replica of a period spyglass as shown of the STERETT emblem.

A full slide show can be found Reception

USS Constellation to attend party for Sterett

Two of the most important names in early U.S. naval history will take to the sea together again as the USS Constellation was pulled from its slip Friday to take part in the commissioning of the Navy's newest destroyer, the USS Sterett.

The 154-year-old Constellation, the centerpiece of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, was towed three miles from its home to South Locust Point for Saturday's formal introduction of the $1.3 billion Sterett, a guided-missile destroyer. The Sterett DDG 104, the fourth Navy ship to bear the name, is christened in honor of Andrew Sterett, the first lieutenant to sail the original, 18th century Constellation and a celebrated naval hero.

"This is the big one," said Constellation Museum Executive Director Christopher Rowsom. "It really reminds us all that all of our men and women in uniform are really important to our country."

Sterett, a Baltimore native, at the rank of Third Lieutenant sailed on the USF Constellation, a predecessor of Baltimore's 1854 Constellation, and defeated the frigate L'Insurgente in 1799 during the little-remembered and undeclared Quasi-War with France, which took place entirely at sea. The war lasted two years.

In 1800, as a First Lieutenant, Sterett took command of the schooner Enterprise and successfully fought the Barbary pirate ship Tripoli, which earned him a sword from President Thomas Jefferson and extra pay.

The trip was a rare one for the Constellation, which is typically moved or given a "turnaround" once a year to ensure the wooden ship weathers evenly. The ship is a National Historic Landmark.

A man looks out from a canon port as the USS Constellation is moved Friday from its slip in Baltimore to South Locust Point Marine Terminal for Saturday's commissioning of the destroyer USS Sterett.

However, the ship left the Inner Harbor in 2004 for a celebration of its 150th birthday in Annapolis. Moving the Constellation still requires permission from the Naval Sea Systems Command by the Navy, which retains oversight of the ship.

"I think it's very special for us to be part of this," Mr. Rowsom said. "A lot of people don't think of Baltimore as a naval city even though it has an extensive naval history."

The Constellation now in Baltimore is the Navy's last all-sail warship. It was launched from the Gosport Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Va. The original was built in Baltimore.

Before the Civil War, the Constellation was used to intercept slave ships and during the war it was used to chase Confederate raiders, according to the ship's Web site. It was also used for training at the U.S. Naval Academy in the late 1800s.

The Constellation was brought to Baltimore for restoration in 1955.

Photographs by Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times People admire the 154-year-old USS Constellation, the Navy's last all-sail warship, on Friday from a dock at the National Historic Seaport of Baltimore.

The 505-foot Sterett was built by Maine's Bath Iron Works, which dates to 1884 and is now a unit of Falls Church-based defense giant General Dynamics. It can carry 32 officers and 348 enlisted sailors, according to the U.S. Naval Vessel Register.

The Sterett is capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously and contains a wide array of offensive and defensive weapons, according to the Defense Department.

A man looks out from a canon port as the USS Constellation is moved Friday from its slip in Baltimore ...