LAKEWOOD, OH – Long before the USS Cleveland appeared on the horizon Saturday morning, the Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park were packed. Veterans in Navy hats sat in lawn chairs, shoulder-to-shoulder with active-duty service members. Parents kept an eye on toddlers running around as other children waved American flags along the shoreline, scanning Lake Erie for a glimpse of the first-ever Navy warship commissioned in the Buckeye State.

Navy veteran Dennis Massimiani, with his 6-year-old great niece, wanted to make sure he didn’t miss out on the unprecedented moment: “When would you ever see a Navy ship on Lake Erie? You don’t.”

The USS Cleveland emerged in the distance at about 10:30 a.m. Hundreds of people at Lakewood Park watched on as the vessel moved east along the shoreline, with many holding their smartphones and cameras up to capture the moment. “It’s not every day you get to see a Navy ship that comes by,” Brian Gleba told cleveland.com as he stood with his son, Bruce, who had never seen a ship before.

Saturday’s sail-by marked the opening event of commissioning week for the LCS 31, a Freedom-class littoral combat ship that will officially enter active service next Saturday, May 16, at North Coast Yard just north of Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.

USS Cleveland arrives at Port of Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor for Commission Week. [Cleveland.com]

The vessel passed communities along the Lake Erie shoreline from Vermilion to Cleveland, visible from parks in Avon Lake, Bay Village, Rocky River, Lakewood and Cleveland on its way. In Rocky River, attendees handed out flags and even set off fireworks.

At Lakewood Park, the morning felt equal parts patriotic celebration and neighborhood reunion. Dark clouds hovered far out over the water, but sunlight pierced through at just the right time, reflecting off the water as the ship traveled alongside a flotilla of private boats toward the Port of Cleveland.

In addition to those who brought their own banners, many attendees held U.S. flags given to them by the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation as part of a $31 fundraising campaign. “It’s just a regular flag, but how do you say just a regular flag?” Lakewood resident Dan Morgan said. “It’s an American flag.”

The USS Cleveland is designed for near-shore operations. Its many functions include surface warfare, mine countermeasures and anti-submarine missions. According to the US Navy, the ship can travel at speeds exceeding 40 knots.

The ship is nearly 400 feet long, though the distance made the ship appear deceptively small from shore, which several people noted as they peered through phone cameras and binoculars. But public tours scheduled throughout commissioning week will give folks a chance to step aboard and experience the vessel up close.

The USS Cleveland is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to carry the city’s name. Previous ships were a protected cruiser commissioned in 1903 (C-19), a World War II light cruiser (CL-55) commissioned in 1942 and an amphibious transport dock (LPD-7) commissioned in 1967.

A free, family-friendly Community Day runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at North Coast Yard, an area north of Huntington bank Field and the Steamship William G. Mather Museum, giving Northeast Ohio residents a chance to meet the ship’s crew and learn more about the vessel. The event is open to the public.

The vessel was built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, WI. After commissioning, she will make her way out of the Great Lakes to her homeport at Naval Station Mayport, in Jacksonville, FL.

cleveland.com

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