Navy Deserves SF Salute

While the San Francisco Bay Area is no longer a hub of U.S. Navy activity, the  region certainly has reason to celebrate “Fleet Week” taking place through this weekend.
As pointed out by Fleet Week chair, Edward M. Leonard, the region has a long and proud connection with the US Navy dating back to at least 1854 when the Mare Island shipyard in Vallejo commenced shipbuilding operations. 
Navy Lieutenant Frederick Freeman and Marine Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Karmany led firefighting and security operations during the 1906 earthquake, which is one of the reasons the “Great White Fleet” was so warmly received when it sojourned in San Francisco from May to July 1908. World War II brought over 1.5 million servicemen through San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda, many of whom settled here when they returned. 
Coinciding the San Francisco’s decline as a ocean cargo gateway, the Navy gradually moved its bases to other locations and the physical presence of active duty military personnel in the Bay Area diminished. In 1990 there were six major Navy installations in the Bay Area, but by 2000 there were none. 
“Nevertheless,” said Freeman, the attachment remained, “animated in part by these veterans and their families.”