NAVY HISTORY

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Comment by CCR on November 8, 2009 at 9:47pm

PS, I spent a glorious 2 1/2 days with my retired Chief Petty Officer (AE) brother! I love him so much! We had a great visit at my folks house and back to Tampa he went. He and his incredible wife just adopted 3 foster children and have 3 more foster children. They've always had about six or so, ever since their own kids flew the coop in 90-92. ~~~~

Comment by CCR on November 8, 2009 at 9:44pm

well, I know what I am forwarding to all my friends this Veterans day Carol! thank you ever so much for sharing that with us.

I also am starting a discussion titled Veterans Day so you can share who you would like to give tribute to - family, dear friends, etc.
Thanks Carol!!!!

Irene, I speak for everyone when I say Mary is a huge friend of ours and our hearts go out to her at this time. I believe Nick is with her now, and I hope it is comforting beyond measure. We love you Mary.

Comment by carols_kitchen on November 8, 2009 at 12:20pm

I will always remember Kate Smith's version. Just felt it was called for following the Ft. Hood incident


Berlin originally wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but decided that it did not fit in a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside. The lyrics at that time included the line, "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..." [1], as well as "Stand beside her and guide her, to the right with the light from above."

Music critic Jody Rosen comments that a 1906 Jewish dialect novelty song, "When Mose with His Nose Leads the Band", contains a six-note fragment that is "instantly recognizable as the opening strains of "God Bless America"". He interprets this as an example of Berlin's "habit of interpolating bits of half-remembered songs into his own numbers."[citation needed] Berlin, born Israel Baline, had himself written several Jewish-themed novelty tunes.

In 1938, with the rise of Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish, and a first-generation European immigrant, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song", and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith, on her radio show. [1] Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted "through the night" instead. He also provided an introduction that is now rarely heard but which Smith always used: "While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free / Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer."

More than just the dramatic words and melody, the arrangement for Kate Smith's performance was accompanied by full band, progressing into a grand march tempo, with trumpets triple re-inforcing the harmonies between stanzas: the dramatic build-up ends on the final exposed high note, which Kate Smith sang in the solo as a sustained a cappella note, with the band then joining for the finale.

The song was a hit; there was even a movement to make "God Bless America" the national anthem of the United States. In 1943, Smith's rendition was featured in the patriotic musical This Is the Army along with other Berlin songs. Manuscripts in the Library of Congress reveal the evolution of the song from victory to peace. Berlin gave the royalties of the song to the God Bless America Fund for redistribution to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the USA.

Woody Guthrie disliked the song, and wrote "This Land Is Your Land," originally titled "God Blessed America For Me", as a response to "God Bless America". "This Land Is Your Land" has also often been proposed as a United States national anthem[citation needed].

Later, from December 11, 1969,[1] through the early 1970s, the playing of Smith singing the song before many of home games of the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers brought it renewed popularity (as well as a reputation for being a "good luck charm" to the Flyers),[1] long before it became a staple of nationwide sporting events.[1] The Flyers even brought Smith in to sing "live" before the final game of Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 19, 1974, and the Flyers won the Cup that day.[1]

To honor the start of the United States Bicentennial, Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" for a national television audience, accompanied by the UCLA Band at the 1976 Rose Bowl.

"God Bless America" is often sung at sporting events, recitals, and other public events where national anthems are sung, sometimes in place of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Two examples of this are at home games of the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers and those of the Ottawa Senators in which the visiting team is from the United States. At Flyers' home games, Lauren Hart has sung "God Bless America" alternating lyrics with Kate Smith on a video screen. Kate Smith actually appeared in person to sing at select Flyers games, including their 1974 Stanley Cup clinching game against the Boston Bruins, to which she received a thunderous ovation from the infamously fickle Philadelphia fans. To this day, whenever the Flyers play the video of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America", the fans will not boo any play until well into the game. At some Ottawa Senators' home games, if the visiting team is from the U.S., Ontario Provincial Police Constable Lyndon Slewidge has sung "God Bless America" before singing the Canadian national anthem.

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, "God Bless America" has commonly been sung during the seventh-inning stretch in Sunday (as well as Opening Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, All-Star Game, Labor Day, September 11 and all post-season) Major League Baseball games, except for those at the Canadian home fields of the Toronto Blue Jays and of the Montreal Expos prior to 2005, when they moved to Washington. Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium are currently the only Major League ballparks to play "God Bless America" in every game during the seventh-inning stretch. The Yankees' YES Network televises its performance during each game before going to a commercial.

On August 26, 2008, a fan at a Boston Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium, who had attempted to leave for the restroom during the playing of the song, was restrained and ejected by NYPD officers. As part of the settlement of a subsequent lawsuit, the New York Yankees announced that they would no longer restrict the movement of fans during the playing of the song.[2]

At Chicago's Wrigley Field, during the Vietnam War, the song was often played by the organist as part of his post-game playlist, while fans filed out of the stadium.[3]

On September 15, 2009, three high school teens filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's minor league Newark Bears for being ejected from Eagles Riverfront Stadium over their refusal to stand during the playing of "God Bless America" on June 29, 2009. Before being ejected, they were asked to leave the stadium by Bears' president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar.[4]
[edit] Notable versions
[edit] Traditional Lyrics

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Comment by carols_kitchen on November 7, 2009 at 3:25pm

Veteran's Day
Just want to remember my family who have passed on before us.
Grandfather--WWI and served in France in Army
Uncle--WWII and served in Phillipines (not a good story)
Brother--Served in National Guard during Viet Nam even though he was a Quaker
Dad--served WWI and Korea as Air Force, ret. Captain
God Bless our Military

Comment by Irene McClure on November 5, 2009 at 7:14am

Hey I wanted to drop by and let everyone know that I got a message from Mary's daughter and she wanted me to let her friends know on N4M that Mary's dad passed away last night so if you could remember Mary at this time it would be great. Thank you.

Comment by MRM3 on November 2, 2009 at 12:19am

Hi CCR! I just noticed that 4 pictures of my uncle who was in the Navy during WWII have been removed from my page. I also posted them to this discussion as well but wasn't sure of the date so I don't know if they may still be on here. Do you have any idea why they may have been deleted? If it was Admin they didn't send a PM .....it's really got me puzzled because all of my other pics are still there. Just curious as to whether I may have missed some new rule or something. Thanks!

Comment by CCR on October 30, 2009 at 1:46pm

Deborah and Suzanne, thanks so much for your posts on the discussions.
Below is a list of Official Navy museums. I know these must be ONLY the OFFICIAL ones, because there is a Nimitz museum in TX in the hill country. And its not listed. Must do further searches. Arghhh.

Official U.S. Naval Museums
National Museum of the U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C.

Great Lakes Naval Museum, Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois

Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virginia

National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida

Naval Museum of Armament and Technology, China Lake, California

Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport, Washington

Naval War College Museum, Newport, Rhode Island

Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.

Puget Sound Navy Museum, Bremerton, Washington

Patuxtent River Naval Air Museum, Patuxtent River, Maryland

U.S. Navy Seabee Museum Port Hueneme, California

Submarine Force Museum & Historic Ship Nautilus, Groton, Connecticut

U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland

U .S. Navy Supply Corps Museum, Athens, Georgia

USS Constitution "Old Ironsides," Boston, Massachusetts

Comment by CCR on October 1, 2009 at 8:53am

Connie, I'm trying to remember all the things they said about the planes. (military channel)
Speed, firepower, something else, something else,
and situational awareness. The cockpit was perfect for them.

Comment by JB on September 27, 2009 at 4:43pm

CCR: I for one am enjoying any and all of the contributions which wind up on this page. Keep up the good work!

Comment by carols_kitchen on September 26, 2009 at 6:19pm

What a neat restoration!

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