And, there is an even more famous ship planned to use Dry Dock No. 1 in 2014 and that would be the USS Constitution. This ship figures to get quite a workout during the War of 1812 bicentennial (it went for a sail under its own power last summer). It is the world's oldest commissioned ship and was constructed in Boston.
The USS Cassin Young was built in California, but 14 other Fletcher-Class destroyers were built at the Charlestown Navy Yard during World War II. (That was the Young's destroyer class.)
It was named for Cassin Young, who commanded the USS Vestal, a repair ship that was tied up next to the USS Arizona that December day when the Japanese attacked. The force of the battleship's explosion threw him and others off the Vestal.
He got back on the Vestal which was on fire, ordered the crew to their posts and navigated away from the Arizona, picking up survivors along the way. For this, he later received the Medal of Honor.
Cassin Young died the next year at the Battle of Guadalcanal. His namesake vessel was commissioned New Year's Eve 1942 and participated in most of the major Pacific battles: Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
More to Come. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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