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Three U.S. Ships Participate in 2004 Portland Rose Festival
Story Number: NNS040625-07
Release Date: 6/25/2004 11:48:00 AM
By Journalist 3rd Class Cheryl Wilson, Naval Media Center, Fleet Support Detachment San Diego
PORTLAND, Ore. (NNS) -- Three U.S. Navy ships participated in the Fleet Week festivities June 10-14 during the 97th annual Portland Rose Festival.
USS Lake Erie (CG 70), USS Rentz (FFG 46), and USS Stethem (DDG 63) traveled a little further inland than most crews are used to. The ships, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and San Diego, cruised up the Columbia and Willamette rivers to dock at the waterfront in Portland, Ore.
This year, one Coast Guard cutter and three Royal Canadian Navy ships joined Lake Erie, Rentz and Stethem. All three U.S. ships offered river cruises and ship tours. The river cruises started in Astoria, Ore., aboard Lake Erie and Rentz, and in Kalama, Wash., on Stethem. The ships also offered tours over the weekend to the locals.
“This has been going on for a long time. It pre-dates the Vietnam era, and [U.S. Navy ships] have been coming into town since then with no problems,” said Builder 1st Class Matthew Nickles, a Portland native.
“The ships being here is a great advertisement and awareness tool for Naval Recruiting Command,” said Chief Utilitiesman James Lowell of Ketchikan, Alaska.
Lowell manned the Navy recruiting booth just outside the Rose Festival carnival the day the ships pulled into port. He said having the ships come into town put even more of an impact on the locals to think about joining the military.
The locals were not the only ones having fun during the Rose Festival. Sailors from all visiting ships toured the city with shipmates, taking in the different attractions.
“This is considered by some of the active-duty personnel as a good liberty port. They like the hospitality, and it is just an all-around good feeling when they come in,” Nickles said.
Nickles also feels Fleet Week during the Rose Festival is an opportunity to give back a little bit for the support that Portland shows for the Navy. “It is a chance to tell the public, ‘Thank you, very much.’”
For related news, visit the Naval Media Center, FSD San Diego Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nmcsd.
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