Chairman's Greeting

The San Francisco Bay Area 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. In the last 20 years, as the Navy moved its bases to other locations, 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, the attachment remained, animated in part by these veterans and their families.

One of the purposes of our annual Fleet Week celebration is to remind us of this history and to keep the role of the Navy in the forefront of our consciousness. Of course the story of the Navy, like the story of San Francisco, is the chronicle of individual people, and Fleet Week gives Northern Californians the opportunity to express their gratitude to those individuals currently serving in the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. Since the modern Fleet Week commenced in 1981, San Franciscans have been extremely generous and cordial to our military visitors, reflecting both our nautical heritage and our awareness of the perilous state of the world for most of that period. Nevertheless, one can’t say enough about the character, capability and bravery of the men and women currently serving in the military nor can we ever adequately thank them.

Of course a celebration isn’t really a celebration without entertainment, and in 2009 the Blue Angels will once again thrill us as the highlight act of our air show. The air show will also feature Sean Tucker and his Team Oracle, Julie Clark, the Patriot Jets and several other exciting and interesting aircraft acts.

Saturday’s Parade of Ships will include three vessels from the Canadian Navy, the Coast Guard cutter USCGS Boutwell as well as the LPD USS Green Bay from the US Navy. We are incredibly fortunate to live around the naturally beautiful San Francisco Bay where a Parade of Ships and a Fleet Week air show is possible.

I hope you will enjoy 2009 San Francisco Fleet Week. As you do, please remember the honorable tradition of military service in San Francisco. Please also help me make our Fleet Week visitors, including the Canadians, feel welcome in our City, and join me in thanking them for their incalculable contribution to our security and well being.

Edward M. Leonard
Chairman, San Francisco Fleet Week Committee
September 16, 2009
USS Green Bay

<< Back to Fleet Week 2009