USS Enterprise Flag Flies Over Englishtown in Memorial Day Parade

At the Englishtown-Manalapan Memorial Day Parade today one U.S. Flag will have more meaning than all the rest. Hanging in front of Englishtown's Veterans' Monument today, located directly next to the , will be a United States flag from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

Englishtown Councilman Gregory W. Wojyn, a Navy veteran who served aboard the ship, acquired the flag during a visit to the ship’s home port in Norfolk, VA in November 2011. Flags flown aboard the ship were provided to veterans who had served on the USS Enterprise and were also given a certificate as proof of its authenticity.

“I was inspired to bring the flag home following a memorial service for the scores of Enterprise sailors who died while serving aboard the ship,” Wojyn said. “They were sailors I did not know before and after I served – but their sacrifices can’t be forgotten. I truly hope our neighbors from Englishtown and Manalapan come to the Memorial Day Parade to see the flag.”

The American Legion Post 434 will be leading the Memorial Day parade today and the Sea Cadets from Naval Weapons Station Earle Division will also will be marching in the parade.

Right now, the 50-year-old USS Enterprise is on her final deployment in the Persian Gulf. The aircraft carrier, which was the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, has been in service since 1961. This December, the ship will be deactivated and eventually be dismantled in the coming years. The ship cannot be converted into a museum because of the cost to operate such a large ship.

“There has been a U.S. Navy ship named Enterprise since the Revolutionary War,” Wojyn said. “The next carriers being built are named ‘Gerald R. Ford’ and ‘John F. Kennedy’. I certainly hope the Navy carries on the legacy of the next aircraft carrier to be named ‘Enterprise’ in honor of those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”