ABOARD USS FORT MCHENRY AT SEA -- Sailors aboard USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) remembered the victims of the terrorist attacks on America Sept. 11, 2001 during a commemoration ceremony aboard the ship on the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic events. During the ceremony, the Secretary of the Navy-authorized First Navy Jack was raised on the dock landing ship’s yardarm. 
Fort McHenry’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Adrian J. Jansen, spoke to the ship’s crew about the importance of remembering the tragedy and their responsibility to ensure America’s freedom.

“Sept. 11, 2001 will always hold a place in our minds, just as Dec. 7, 1941 does,” Jansen began. “The incredible loss of life and property caused by the cowardice of a few, serves as a reminder that free and open democratic societies like our own are vulnerable,” he said. “The key to preserving our way of life is a strong military which supports not only homeland security but also takes decisive action in eradicating groups whose cowardice deserves no respect.” 

Thirty bells were sounded as the crew observed a moment of silence for those who perished in the attacks. Each bell signified roughly 100 people who were lost. Following a moment of silence and a prayer, Signalman 2nd Class (SW) Charles Sardono ceremoniously raised the Navy’s First Navy Jack and watched it unfurl as it climbed to the top of Fort McHenry’s yardarm. The decision to replace the Union Jack with the First Navy Jack – which has the phrase, “Don’t Tread on Me” emblazoned across the front -- came from the Secretary of the Navy Gordon England to signify unity and solidarity throughout the Navy. 

“It was a very proud but sad moment for me personally,” Sardono said. “Being from Brooklyn myself makes those events a year ago seem much closer.” 

A Secretary of the Navy-mandated directive stated U.S. Navy afloat commands would fly the flag beginning Sept. 11 -- the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., New York and Pennsylvania -- to honor those whose lives were lost and the numerous heroes in the War Against Terrorism. Previously, only the oldest active commissioned ship -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) -- was authorized to fly the First Navy Jack.

The First Navy Jack, a flag consisting of a rattlesnake superimposed across 13 horizontal alternating red and white stripes, boasts the motto "Don't tread on me," and was first flown in the fall of 1775 as the Continental Navy was readied for engagement in the Delaware River. The commander of the fleet, Commodore Esek Hopkins, used this flag, which was flown with the National Ensign, as a method of signaling his ships to attack.

Today, the temporary substitution of the First Navy Jack serves as a historic reminder of the United States' and U.S. Navy's origin, as well as the will of its people to persevere and triumph.

-USN-