Assembly Resolution No. 592

BY: M. of A. McDonald

COMMEMORATING the 75th Anniversary of the
commissioning of the U.S.S. SLATER DE766

WHEREAS, Museums which serve the best interests of the people of
this Empire State merit the commendation of this Legislative Body; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the
75th Anniversary of the commissioning of the USS SLATER DE766, and to
celebrate this milestone of the last Destroyer Escort that has been
restored and still afloat in the United States; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the
75th Anniversary of the commissioning of the USS SLATER DE766 which
occurred on May 1, 1944, in Tampa Florida; and

WHEREAS, Commissioning is the ceremony by which a ship is placed in
active duty; and

WHEREAS, The USS SLATER DE766 is now a Destroyer Escort Historical
Museum moored on the Hudson River in Albany, New York; the ship arrived
in Albany on October 26, 1997; and

WHEREAS, On March 9, 1943, the USS SLATER's keel was laid at the
Tampa Shipbuilding Company; and

WHEREAS, On February 13, 1944, the USS SLATER was launched and
christened, sponsored by Mrs. Nora Slater, mother of Seaman Frank O.
Slater who was killed in action aboard the USS SAN FRANCISO CA-38 off of
Gaudalcanal; and

WHEREAS, On June 24, 1946, the USS SLATER was decommissioned at
Green Cove Springs, Florida; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, 563 Destroyer Escorts battled Nazi
U-boats on the North Atlantic protecting conveys; while in the Pacific,
these ships stood in line to defend naval task forces from Japanese
submarines and Kamikaze air attacks; and

WHEREAS, This ship has been designated as a National Historic
Landmark; and

WHEREAS, The USS SLATER has undergone an extensive restoration so
that a visitor can return to 1945 to see how sailors walked, hear the
sound of a living ship, touch a piece of American history and walk the
decks where hundreds of sailors walked before; the museum offers
hour-long guided tours, youth group overnight camping, and a historic
location to hold naval reunions; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when museums
of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our attention,
they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of this
great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate
the 75th Anniversary of the commissioning of the USS SLATER DE766; and
be it further

RESOLVED That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Timothy C. Rizzuto, Executive Director Destroyer Escort
Historical Museum USS SLATER DE 766.