Photo and story by MC3 Shannon Burns
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2011, then-Senior Chief Electronics Technician Rafael
Perez was in his hotel room with his family before being abruptly awoken by
his command sponsor. In the middle of a duty station change, Perez’s sponsor
went on to inform him that two commercial airplanes had crashed into the World
Trade Center Towers. Little did Perez know the events that had transpired would
forever shift the path of his life. A native of Bronx, N.Y., Perez joined the Navy in
1987, five years after graduating high school. His motivation came in the form of
the Hollywood blockbuster, “Top Gun.”
“When I watched the movie ‘Top Gun’ I said to myself, ‘I want to do
that. I wanted to … be like those cool guys in the movie,’” said Perez.
Following his decision to join the Navy, Perez spent the next 14 years
like any other Sailor: deploying, visiting other countries, advancing in
rank, and building friendships.
“When 9/11 happened I had just transferred from USS Newport News
(SSN 750) to Submarine Group Seven, Yokosuka, Japan,” said Perez. “I
was in the Navy Lodge with my family, and my sponsor woke me up at
about 11:30 p.m. Yokosuka time and told me to turn on the TV. He told me
that our country was under attack. After that, our lives changed forever.”
After receiving the devastating news, Perez’s first reaction was to try
to get in touch with his mother and two siblings who resided in the Bronx.
“I talked to my family immediately as [the attack] was happening,”
said Perez. “I said to myself, ‘Oh my God! There must be at least 25,000
people who work in that building.’ I couldn’t believe that someone would
kill innocent people through terrorism in my hometown! I’d always
hear about wars in other countries, but I never thought that the streets
I would walk on and the places I would visit with my family would be a
target for terrorist activity.”
Because he was stationed in Yokosuka at the time of the attacks, Perez
was not able to immediately see his family.
“I was not able to see my mom and brothers until a year after the attacks,” said Perez. “I knew they were safe, but that day changed my life
because I knew that anything could happen anytime, anywhere. Every
day that I get to see them is a blessing.”
During the aftermath of 9/11, Perez attended an admiral’s call in
which the upper chain of command spoke about the current events.
“9/11 reinforced to me that we were going to be a nation at war and
that leadership of Sailors was going to be essential to success. September
11th inspired me to take that next step and lead Sailors outside of my
rate. I aspired to be a CMC,” said Perez.
The steps that Perez took to accomplish his goal of one day becoming
a command master chief included numerous hours of selfless devotion
to his Sailors and constant support to the war against terrorism. One
of those ways, Perez said, is serving aboard USS New York (LPD 21).
It was an opportunity, symbolic as it were, “I knew I couldn’t pass up.”
On Sept. 9, 2003, construction began on New York, a ship containing
7.5 tons of metal salvaged from the towers. New York was christened on
March 1, 2008, during a ceremony at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans.
On Nov. 7, 2009, she was commissioned in New York City.
“When I heard that they were going to build New York using metal
from the towers, I wanted to be stationed [at that command],” said Perez.
“I felt so great knowing that there was going to be a ship that would have
such a personal connection to New York and those attacks. The souls
of those who perished are in that ship, and it feels so amazing to be a
CMC on board her.”
The attacks changed not only his path in the Navy, but his view of how
safe he was as well.
“Before 9/11, I probably took security and safety for granted,” Perez
explained. “Since 9/11, I realized we can’t live in fear – that would mean
the terrorists won – but, that we must be vigilant that there are some in this
world who still desire to do our nation harm. It takes all of us to protect
our nation and our communities.”
For Perez the connection to the New York goes beyond her crew.
“I’ve been in the Navy for 24 years and most of it has been served in the
submarine community,” Perez said. “The biggest thrill of my naval career is
serving as CMC on USS New York. I feel as though the 348 crewmembers
assigned are not her only crewmembers. I feel like I have about 15 million
New Yorkers as my crewmembers as well.”
Since 9/11 the Navy has had to adjust to the threat of terrorism and
a new kind of war where the enemy may not be as obvious as it has been
in the past.
“The Navy is so adaptable, [but] 9/11 changed the face of the Navy,”
Perez commented. “We had to realize that we had to change our warfare
tactics, I think the entire DoD (Department of Defense) realized that we
were going to have to change. We had to become lite and fast instead of just
trying to overcome [our adversaries] with our military might. It caused
our leadership to think about how quickly and effectively we could bring
the fight to the enemy.”
Perez said that he feels privileged not only to be in the Navy, but to be
on New York as the CMC as well.
“I’m so blessed to be a part of this organization. I’m so proud that I
get to represent New York, her crewmembers, and the Navy to the world,”
said Perez. “I wish I could invite the whole Navy to come and visit USS
New York because she’s a fantastic ship, and the people who serve aboard
her are fantastic.”
Perez’s focus is on helping his Sailors improve in and out of the Navy.
“I really want to help USS New York become the best it can be,” said
Perez. “Developing my Sailors both personally and professionally is my
primary focus right now. Most of the Sailors that serve on [New York]
chose to serve here, and they have a deep personal connection to what
this ship stands for.”
Perez’s hope for the future of New York is for the ship to reach its full
potential while on deployment.
“I’d really like the ship to excel in all warfare areas,” Perez commented.
“I really want her to make a difference while deployed so that when people
ask how New York fared on deployment I can say that we exceeded all
expectations.”
Perez has been New York CMC for five months. New York’s homeport
is Norfolk, Va.
Burns is assigned to Defense Media Activity
Original story here
http://www.navy.mil/media/allhands/acrobat/ah201109.pdf

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232 years ago on October 11^th 1776, New York fought in the first naval engagement of the fledging US Navy

On one side you had the British Empire led by Sir Guy Carleton with 30 major ships and 1670 trained seamen trying to cut the colonies in half and hopefully ending the independence movement. On the other side you have Benedict Arnold with 800 motley crew manning 16 ships, some built just days ago. Their job is to stop the British by whatever means possible to buy time. Arnold had his ships anchor on the east side of Valcour Island knowing that the British,  after rounding the island would have the winds in their faces as they tried to engage  the American ships. The battle started in earnest at 11 am, the Americans suffered greatly throughout the day with the Royal Savage run aground and abandoned, the Philadelphia holed and sunk and Congress, Washington, Jersey and New York badly damaged. The Americans had suffered 60 casualties including New York’s first victim who was killed when a cannon exploded onboard. The British set the Royal Savage on fire and she burned into the evening. At dusk Arnold held a war council with his remaining commanders onboard Congress and it was agreed to make a run for it under the cover of darkness and make way for Crown Point. At daybreak the British discovered to their horror that the Americans had escaped and they set off in pursuit. A running gun battle ensued and one by one the battered fleet was overtaken by the British until only the Congress and four gunboats remained. Arnold realized that reaching Crown Point by water was no longer an option so he grounded what was left of his squadron in Ferris Bay and burned them to prevent their capture.

“NEVER HAD ANY FORCE, BIG OR SMALL, LIVED
TO BETTER PURPOSE OR DIED MORE GLORIOUSLY”

A.T. MAHAN

For more info see

http://historiclakes.org/Valcour/valcour_battle.htm

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The first New York By Adam Kane

The first New York was a gondola built by the Continental Army in 1776 to defend Lake Champlain from an expected British invasion. The New York fought in the Battle of Valcour Island (October 11-13, 1776), as part of a hastily constructed American fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold. During the the battle a cannon on the gunboat exploded killing a Lieutenant Thomas Rogers of Westford, Massachusetts. Of the eight gunboats like the New York built by the Americans in 1776, the New York was the only one to survive the Battle of Valcour Island. The vessel was captured and burned by the British the following year. The spot in Valcour Bay where the gunboat’s cannon exploded has been archaeologically mapped and six fragments of its exploded cannon have been found and are now part of a traveling displayed produced by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum called “Rediscovering a Moment in Time: The Valcour Bay Research Project.”
Adam Kane

Nautical Archaeology Project Manager

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

4472 Basin Harbor Road

Vergennes, VT 05491

phone: 802.475.2022 ext. 116

fax: 802.475.2953
www.lcmm.org

Tags: 1776, America, American, american fleet, archaeology project, battle of valcour, Battle of Valcour Island, benedict arnold, british invasion, continental army, gondola, gunboat, gunboats, Lake Champlain, lake champlain maritime museum, nautical archaeology, New York, News, october 11, thomas rogers, vergennes vt, westford massachusetts