Battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 Main Page

Welcome Aboard!

This Month in the History of Big J...

February 4, 1944 - On this day USS New Jersey began her distinguished career as a flagship in Majuro Lagoon, when Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commanding the Fifth Fleet, broke his flag from her main. Her first action as a flagship was a bold two-day surface and air strike by her task force against the supposedly impregnable Japanese fleet base on Truk in the Carolines.

February 8, 1984 - While on station off Beirut, USS New Jersey fired 288 16-inch rounds into the surrounding hills to effectively knock out Syrian anti-aircraft missile sites.

February 8, 1991 - USS New Jersey decommissioned at Pier Echo, Naval Station Long Beach with hundreds of dignitaries and spectators looking on. In his speech, Captain R.D. Tucker uttered the words of former commanding officers, which, he said, will close the final chapter in the history of the Battleship New Jersey: "The hour cometh and now is to say farewell. But, before doing so, my last order to you -- Battleship New Jersey -- is rest well, yet sleep lightly, and hear the call, if again sounded, to provide ‘Firepower for Freedom.'"

February 19 - 21, 1945 - In support of the assault on Iwo Jima, USS New Jersey screened USS Essex's (CV-9) group in air attacks on the island. Four days later Big J provided the same service for the first major carrier raid on Tokyo, a raid aimed specifically at aircraft production.

February 25, 1990 - USS New Jersey returned to her homeport, Naval Station Long Beach, from the Indian Ocean, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Hawaii, ending a 34,500 mile deployment, the last deployment for the proud, veteran battleship.

Personalize a Brick and Help Support the Battleship - Give a truly unique gift to a family member, friend or
even yourself - and help the Battleship! Purchase
a personalized brick to be placed on the Battleship's
Memorial Pier! Personalized bricks are available for a
donation of $100. You can also order a replica brick for
your home or office for $50. To order a personalized brick, call (866) 877-6262 ext. 127, or visit battleshipnewjersey.org.

For an Order Form you can print and return click Here.

Buy a bottle of Wine and Support the Battleship - Battleship Red and White Wines are getting rave reviews! Grown, produced and bottled at Auburn Road Vineyards, they compliment any meal. Plus a portion of each bottle sold goes directly to the ongoing maintenance and preservation of the Battleship! Battleship Wine can be purchased at Joe Canal's on Route 45 in West Deptford, NJ, Canal's in Mt. Ephraim, NJ and Hops and Grapes in Glassboro, NJ, or you can purchase Battleship Wine
online at auburnroadvineyards.com.

The USS New Jersey is open for tours,
for information about visiting click Here.

To see photos taken at the ships Grand Opening Celebration on October 15, 2001 click Here.

Interested in Volunteering onboard?
For Information on joining the Crew click Here.

To see photos from my most recent
Volunteer Day onboard click Here.

For information on upcoming events
onboard the USS New Jersey click Here.

To see photos taken at the new Smithsonian
Air & Space Museum Annex click Here.

Big J's Volunteers were awarded the 2003
Governor’s Award for “Mobilization of Volunteers."
To date over 575,000 volunteer hours have been logged for tours, renovation and maintenance work. Bravo Zulu to the crew, keep up the good work!

To see photos taken during my visit onboard the
Heavy Cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134) during a
parts raid before she was scrapped click Here.

The Jerseyman, a Quarterly online periodical written
and edited by Master Chief Tom Helvig, USN (Ret.),
is available on this site. To read the current or
past issues of The Jerseyman click Here.

* * Current Status and General Information about the Ship * *

Welcome to the Online Home Port of the Battleship New Jersey. The USS New Jersey completed her Final Voyage home from Bremerton, WA to the former Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard, arriving appropriately enough, on Veteran's Day 1999. The Navy's decision of where to permanently berth the Battleship was announced on January 20, 2000, and the winner was... Camden!!! On July 27, 2000 she was moved to the South Jersey Port Corporation's Beckett Street Terminal, where she remained for about 2 weeks. While there she was opened to the public for Deck Tours on August 9th & 10th, and drew an estimated 11,000 visitors. She was moved again on August 15, 2000 to another dock, the Broadway Terminal, where she underwent a year long, $7.3 Million restoration. Finally, on September 23, 2001 she was moved to her new permanent home on the Camden waterfront. She was officially opened to the public for tours on October 15, 2001.

This site contains lots of information about the USS New Jersey, the Navy's most decorated Battleship, including the Ships History, Battle Record, and Iowa Class Statistics. It also contains information about how you can help with her ongoing restoration and operation and also fund the construction of a permanent onshore museum. If you are a New Jersey Resident there are several easy ways you can help and there are also other ways everyone can help. I myself belong to the the Home Port Alliance, they are the organization that currently has control of the ship and have opened her as a Museum on the Delaware River. Another organization that worked a long time to bring Big J home is the Battleship New Jersey Historical Society. These two organizations worked hard to bring the Navy's most decorated warship home to the state she was named for, and I'm proud to be a small part of their efforts.

If you're interested in reviewing Photos and entries from a Daily Journal kept during the ships final trip home, click on the Final Voyage button. The Photo Gallery contains photos taken during the ships 4 different active duty periods and an extensive collection of pictures chronicling her final voyage home to New Jersey. It also contains hundreds of photos taken by me over the past 9+ years showing the ships complete restoration, grand opening to the public and ongoing operations. If you want to see a picture of a certain area of the ship, chances are you'll find it in the Photo Gallery, and if not, send me an e-mail and describe the area, and I'll take some for you the next time I'm onboard.

Feel free to send me any Comments or Suggestions you may have about this site, I value your input. If you're interested in visiting websites for other Battleships, other Warships or Naval related sites be sure to check out the extensive Related Links list I compiled while researching for this site. The list contains links to sites for well over 400 warships and many other Navy related sites.

I encourage you to get involved and help this great cause if you can. You can join the Home Port Alliance for as little as $45.00 per year or you can help in numerous other ways. For more information about how you can help, click on the You Can Help button. Even purchasing items from the Home Port Alliance's Ship's Store helps the cause, and the Hats, Shirts and other items there are very nice. Buy an official USS New Jersey Hat, a T-Shirt or a Golf Shirt and wear it with pride knowing a portion of its purchase price went to help restore and maintain the Battleship. I thank you in advance for any help you can provide to this effort. Don't forget to stop by and sign the Ships Log before you leave. There are hundreds of entries in the Ships Log, many are from former crewmen looking for old shipmates. Check out the Log Entries and see if you can hook up with an old buddy. If you too are trying to get in touch with old shipmates, click on the Crew Info button for some helpful hints to get you started on your way.