Luis Rodriguez
floating history
If you are crossing Boston, then you can visit Charlestown Navy Yard, one of the oldest shipyards in the United States. Since 1974, the National Park Service has managed it. Among other attractions you can find the free museum ship USS Cassin Young at Pier 1 or Pier 2, a WWII destroyer. There is a box to leave a tip and a person stationed at the entrance, as sometimes there are too many people trying to visit the destroyer, and to guilt you to leave something. The Fletcher-class destroyer, 114 meters in length, launched September 12, 1943 and was named after a brave sea captain who survived the Pearl Harbor attack but died in combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal a year later.
The USS Cassin Young DD-793 participated in some of the most important battles of the Pacific War, including Leyte and Okinawa (as you can learn from Wikipedia or the tv series the Pacific) and was removed from service in 1960. In 1978, the US Navy gave the ship to the National Park Service to serve as a floating museum and memorial; it was opened to the public in 1981. For much of the time since, the USS Cassin has been in the water, but since 2010 has been dry-docked for hull repairs. Thankfully, when we visited it, it was open for public access. On our visit, we saw much of the ship's main deck, although there were clear areas that weren't accessible. It was interesting to see a warship of the time, and how claustrophobic it must have been to be surrounded by boats and planes firing at you while you were doing the same while floating on the water. It made our hair stand slightly on end. We saw the 40 mm antiaircraft guns, 5" turrets, decorations, the radio area, dining room, and breakout rooms. If you pass through Boston, I highly recommend a visit, as there are usually a lot of people queuing to access the destroyer. Though we didn't have problems and we visited in August. Additionally, we saw a group of officers and Navy men, and they did have access to areas banned to the public.
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