On the River This Sunday Morning

On Sunday morning, the day after the Fourth of July, the USS Slater, a World War II destroyer escort, will be sailing down the Hudson River from Albany, where it is moored as a floating museum, to Staten Island, where it will undergo continued restoration work.

USS Slater in World War II       Photo: Wikipedia

During World War II, destroyer escorts like the USS Slater battled Nazi U-boats and protected convoys of men and materials on the Atlantic. In the Pacific, they defended naval task forces from Japanese submarines and Kamikaze air attacks. There were originally 563 such vessels. Today, the USS Slater, also known as DE-766, is the only World War II destroyer escort still afloat. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012.

Richard Wallace, who serves as a tour guide on the USS Slater and who alerted Gossips about its upcoming voyage down the Hudson, said this about the ship:

USS Slater is more than just a rusty bucket of bolts in a river in need of repairs; she is a living, breathing museum and memorial to that "greatest generation" of American sailors who fought the longest battle of World War II: the Battle of the Atlantic. Lovingly restored over the past twenty years to her 1943 convoy figuration, DE-766's passage through the Hudson ship channel on Sunday will be an excellent opportunity to get an up close look at this glorious historic vessel.

USS Slater was originally set to leave Albany at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, and it was expected to pass Hudson at about 7:30 a.m. This morning, it was announced that the departure time had been postponed until 7:00 a.m., which would mean it would arrive here at about 9:00 a.m. The Hudson River vessel tracker, which you can access here, will help you follow the USS Slater as it makes its way down from Albany, so you can be in riverfront park when it passes.

Update: Shanna Schuster, visitor engagement and program manager for the USS Slater, was interviewed about the ship and the journey on WAMC this morning, July 4: "USS Slater Heading Down Hudson River for Repairs."
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