By Navy League National President David J. Reilly
This is blog post appears in the October issue of Seapower magazine, the official magazine of the Navy League of the United States.
Last month, I was honored to attend and participate in the New York Council and the Towboat & Harbor Carriers Association’s 20th anniversary 9/11 memorial celebration of the maritime evacuation of the people trapped in Manhattan. This was the largest boatlift undertaking in our nation’s history, even surpassing Britain’s Dunkirk evacuation in World War II. On 9/11, mariners worked alongside the Coast Guard to get over 500,000 people safely back to New Jersey and New York’s other boroughs.
One story that struck me was that of a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral. He started the day in the North Tower, engaged in his normal workday efforts when the plane struck. He felt the impact when the building shook, and he followed directions to abandon the building. Passing many firefighters in full gear climbing the stairs into the building, he made his way to an adjacent building where he was trying to determine his next steps. The South Tower came down and partially crushed the building he was in. He was knocked out. When he recovered and while still in shock, he made his way to the Battery and was rescued in one of the many responding boats and found his way to his work group. For the next several days he worked tirelessly, saving others from this abhorrent attack on our nation.
As the premier organization that educates, advocates and provides support on behalf of the sea services, 9/11 indelibly shaped our mission over the last 20 years. It’s our goal to ensure Americans understand that the United States is a maritime nation. Our organization continues to inform the public on the needs of mariners, on issues like the Jones Act, which provides Americans with a strong economy and enhanced domestic security. We also must ensure should there ever be another attack on our homeland that we are able to respond to it as a country like our Coast Guard and New York mariners did on 9/11.
We must both provide the sea services the critical assets and personnel they need to maximize deterrence and ensure the United States remains a nation at peace, not marred by homeland attacks. Our advocacy work — to grow the Navy’s fleet, encourage the realignment of our Marine Corps back into an amphibious expeditionary fighting force, give the Coast Guard the dollars they deserve to perform their mission, ensure we have enough mariners and boats for sealift operations — all add up to a more safe and secure nation. We saw the fruits of the Navy League’s efforts play out 20 years ago, and we must ensure our nation remains at the ready to prevent and respond to future crises.