| The picture shows a view of all (4) United States Navy U.S.S. New Jersey BB-62 Battleship Advertising Souvenir Items in this lot. These items are not dated. Both sides of the coins are shown. The letter openers are blank on the back. Apparently they are from a fundraiser for the retired ship and possibly from a reunion as well. Each of these items picture the ship. They are all imprinted in blue on a white surface. The two letter openers are marked as follows: U.S.S. NEW JERSEY BB-62
100% SUPPORTER
BRING ME HOME
U.S.S. NEW JERSEY VETERANS, INC.
904/788-1459 The token coins are marked as follows: U.S.S. NEW JERSEY BB-62
BIG J
100% SUPPORTER
OPERATION BRING ME HOME
THIS TOKEN GOOD FOR ONE HUG BY
A FORMER U.S.S. NEW JERSEY CREWMEMBER To judge the sizes the tokens each measure 1-5/8'' wide. These appear to be in excellent condition as pictured, but the openers could use a cleaning. Below here is a brief History of the U.S.S. New Jersey: U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-62)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Career Namesake: State of New Jersey
Ordered: 1 July 1939
Builder: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down: 16 September 1940
Launched: 7 December 1942
Commissioned: 23 May 1943
Decommissioned: 30 June 1948
Recommissioned: 21 November 1950
Decommissioned: 21 August 1957
Recommissioned: 6 April 1968
Decommissioned: 17 December 1969
Recommissioned: 28 December 1982
Decommissioned: 8 February 1991
Struck: 4 January 1999
Nickname: ''Big J''
Honors and awards: 19 battle stars
Status: Museum ship
Notes: Most decorated battleship in Naval History General Characteristics Class and type: Iowa class battleship
Displacement: 45,000 tons
Length: 887 feet 7 inches (270.54 m)
Beam: 108.2 feet (33.0 m)
Draft: 28.9 feet (8.8 m)
Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
Complement: 1,921 officers and enlisted men
Sensors and processing systems: AN/SPS-49 Air Search Radar, AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar, AN/SPQ-9 Surface Search / Gun Fire Control Radar
Electronic warfare and decoys: AN/SLQ-32, AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Decoy System, 8 Mark 36 SRBOC Super Rapid Bloom Rocket Launchers
Armament: 1943: 9 x 16æin (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns, 20 - 5æinch (127æmm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns, 80 x 40æmm 56 cal. anti-aircraft guns, 49 x 20 mm 70 cal. anti-aircraft guns
1968: 9 x 16 inch (406 mm) 50 cal Mark 7 guns, 20 x 5 inch (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns
1982: 9 x 16 inch (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns, 12 - 5æin (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns, 32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 16 x RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles, 4 x 20æmm/76 cal. Phalanx CIWS
Armor: Belt: 12.1 inch (310 mm), Bulkheads: 11.3 inch (290 mm), Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 inch (290 to 440 mm), Turrets: 19.7 inch (500 mm), Decks: 7.5 inch (190 mm)
Aircraft carried: 1943: 2 catapults, 3 Vought OS2U Kingfisher Floatplanes
1982: Deck for up to 4 Helicopters The U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-62), (''Big J'' or ''Black Dragon'') is an Iowa class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of New Jersey. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa class battleships, and is the only U.S. battleship to provide gunfire support during the Vietnam War. The last cruise of the battleship New Jersey began in 1989 as part of Pacific Exercise '89. Upon completion of the exercise New Jersey sailed through the Indian Ocean and into the Persian Gulf, in the process becoming the centerpiece for various battle groups and surface action groups. New Jersey remained in the Persian Gulf for the rest of the year, returning to the United States in February 1990. Reserve fleet and museum ship (1991 - present)
USS New Jersey (BB-62)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location: 62 Battleship Place,
Camden, New Jersey
Built: 1942
Architect: U.S. Navy
Governing body: Private
NRHPæReference#04000980
Added to NRHP: 17 September 2004 With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the lack of a perceived threat against the United States came drastic cuts to the defense budget, and the high cost of maintaining battleships as part of the active fleet became uneconomical; as a result, New Jersey was decommissioned for the final time at Naval Station Long Beach, California, on 8 February 1991, with the ship serving a total of 20 years (the most of the four Iowa's) in active service. The decision to decommission New Jersey robbed the battleship of the chance to participate in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, a military campaign to forcibly remove Iraqi invasion troops from Kuwait. Hostilities had commenced on or about 15 January 1991 and sister ships Missouri and Wisconsin were engaging Iraqi targets with Tomahawk missiles at the time of New Jersey's decommissioning. Following her decommissioning New Jersey was towed to Bremerton, Washington, where she remained in reserve until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1995. Section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 required the United States Navy to reinstate to the Naval Vessel Register two of the Iowa class battleships that had been struck by the Navy in 1995; these ships were to be maintained in the United States Navy reserve fleets (or ''mothball fleet''). The Navy was to ensure that both of the reinstated battleships were in good condition and could be reactivated for use in the Marine Corps' amphibious operations. Due to Iowa's damaged Turret 2 the Navy selected New Jersey for placement into the mothball fleet, even though the training mechanisms on New Jersey's 16æin guns had been welded down. The cost to fix New Jersey was considered less than the cost to fix Iowa; as a result, New Jersey and Wisconsin were reinstated to the Naval Vessel Register and placed back in the reserve fleet. The New Jersey at her berth in Camden at night, Sept 2010.
New Jersey remained in mothball fleet until the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act of 1999 passed through the United States Congress 18 October 1998. Section 1011 required the United States Secretary of the Navy to list and maintain Iowa and Wisconsin on the Naval Vessel Register, while Section 1012 required the Secretary of the Navy to strike New Jersey from the Naval Vessel Register and transfer the battleship to a not for profit entity in accordance with section 7306 of Title 10, United States Code. Section 1012 also required the transferee to locate the battleship in the State of New Jersey. The Navy made the switch in January 1999, and on 12 September, New Jersey was towed by the tug Sea Victory from Bremerton, Washington to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for restoration work in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in advance of her planned donation for use as a museum.Two competing requests for the battleships were filed, one by the U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship Commission of Bayonne, New Jersey, and one by the Home Port Alliance of Camden, New Jersey. Both teams worked hard to develop a comprehensive plan to operate and maintain the battleship as a museum. After a review of both of the submitted plans, the Navy selected the Home Port Alliance of Camden, New Jersey, as the battleship's final resting place. Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig made the announcement on 20 January 2000, and on 15 October of that year New Jersey arrived at her final resting place on the Camden Waterfront. Shortly after her arrival New Jersey was opened to the public, officially beginning her new career as a museum ship with the name Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. Self guided, tour guided and overnight encampments are offered on the floating museum. Overnight encampments, typically for the benefit of scouting organizations, offer the opportunity to sleep and eat in the original berths and mess decks. In 1996 an attempt was made to add New Jersey to the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places. The battleship, however, was still owned by the Navy and was not in the State of New Jersey; as a result the attempt failed. In 2004, a second attempt succeeded, and the State of New Jersey officially designated the battleship U.S.S. New Jersey a historical place. This cleared New Jersey for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, a list to which New Jersey was officially added in 2004. Awards Among other awards, New Jersey earned the Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service, the Presidential Unit Citation from the Republic of the Philippines, and the Presidential Unit Citation from the Republic of Korea. She received nine battle stars for her World War II service, four for her service in the Korean War, two for her service in the Vietnam War, and four for service in Lebanon and the Persian Gulf region. Due to her outstanding service record, New Jersey holds the distinction of being the most decorated battleship in naval history. |
