At Forbes, "USS Spruance commissioned in Key West."
About 3,400 spectators witnessed the first navy vessel commissioning ceremony ever to take place in Key West, despite the island being a base for naval operations for almost two centuries.
The battleship Maine sailed from Key West prior to her 1898 sinking in Havana, leading to the Spanish-American War. In 1917, Navy seaplane and blimp activity began at Naval Air Station Key West. The facility expanded to nearby Boca Chica Key in 1943 and today remains a strategic air base.
"We have such a proud history and tradition with the U.S. Navy down here all the way back to the Civil War," said Key West Mayor Craig Cates. "To have the navy commission a new warship in our city makes us so very proud."
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