City to mark Navy Week

Ahoy, Spokane. Swab the decks. The Navy is coming.

The Lilac City will be among 20 U.S. cities to host Navy Week celebrations next week. Spokane’s version will culminate with the Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade.

Visiting sailors will ride in the May 15 parade.

Officials are still firming up the Navy Week schedule, but events will include appearances by sailors from the USS Constitution.

They’ll wear the uniforms that were current when Old Ironsides defended U.S. shipping in the War of 1812.

“It’s all to bring home that period,” said Petty Officer Frank Neely, a spokesman for the still-active warship.

The American frigate reportedly earned its nickname in an Aug. 19, 1812, battle in which a British frigate’s 18-pound shot bounced off the Constitution’s 25-inch-thick oak hull.

“Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron,” a sailor is said to have exclaimed.

Launched in 1797, the 212-year-old Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship. She’s undergoing a restoration and won’t sail again until early next year, but her crew still travels the country to show what the U.S. Navy was like when it got started.

Neely said Constitution sailors may bring some artifacts to Spokane, but they’ll be traveling light.

“We may be the artifacts,” he said.

Neely said crew members will give historical presentations at Spokane-area middle schools, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Spokane County and the North Spokane YMCA.

They also will visit children in hospitals and will hand out USS Constitution ball caps, Neely said.

Other sailors will visit schools with interactive displays, including a flight simulator, said Lt. Cmdr. Kim Pizanti, commanding officer of the Spokane Navy Operational Support Center.

Also, the Navy’s regional rock-pop band, Passage, will perform at schools and other venues.

Vice Adm. Bruce Clingan, who is a deputy chief of naval operations, and Rear Adm. James Symonds, commander of Navy Region Northwest, will make a number of appearances.

Pizanti said sailors will participate in community service projects throughout the week, such as building houses with Habitat for Humanity.