CLEVELAND \u2014 Under beautiful skies over Lake Erie, the USS Cleveland (LCS-31) sailed into the city whose name it carries Saturday, greeted by crowds lining Northeast Ohio\u2019s shoreline waving American flags.<\/p>\n
Families gathered at beaches and parks from Vermilion to Cleveland for the \u201cWelcome Color Guard,\u201d hoping to catch a glimpse of the Navy ship as it made its way to the Port of Cleveland.<\/p>\n
People watched from locations including Edgewater Park, Huntington Reservation, Veterans Memorial Park, and Lakeview Park as the ship passed by.<\/p>\n
When the vessel finally appeared on the water, cheers erupted from the shoreline.<\/p>\n
For many Northeast Ohio families, the moment felt deeply personal.<\/p>\n
The USS Cleveland sailed into port carrying not just sailors, but a legacy.<\/p>\n
The ship is the fourth Navy vessel to bear Cleveland\u2019s name, continuing a long connection between the city and the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n
Next week, the ship will officially enter active service during a historic commissioning ceremony.<\/p>\n
A commissioning ceremony is a long-standing naval tradition that formally places a ship into active duty and recognizes that the vessel and crew are ready to serve.<\/p>\n
Organizers say this will mark the first time in the 250-year history of the United States that a Navy warship has been commissioned in the state of Ohio.<\/p>\n
While the USS Cleveland is based at Naval Station Mayport, Saturday marked a rare opportunity for the ship to visit the city it represents.<\/p>\n
This week’s events are set up to welcome the ship up to its commissioning. <\/p>\n
Commissioning Week events<\/p>\n
Community Day Sunday, May 10, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. North Coast Yard<\/p>\n
Residents can meet sailors from the USS Cleveland, learn more about the ship and kick off commissioning week during a free, family-friendly event.<\/p>\n
Ship tours<\/p>\n
Sunday, May 10 through Wednesday, May 13, North Coast Yard<\/p>\n
A limited number of public tours will allow visitors to step aboard the USS Cleveland. Organizers say registration details and security requirements will be released separately.<\/p>\n
Commissioning Ceremony<\/p>\n
Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m. North Coast Yard<\/p>\n
The ceremony will officially place the USS Cleveland into active service and cap off years of planning and support from local leaders, veterans and Navy officials.<\/p>\n
Organizers say the ceremony will honor the ship\u2019s crew, celebrate Cleveland and mark a historic first for Ohio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014 Under beautiful skies over Lake Erie, the USS Cleveland (LCS-31) sailed into the city whose name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-188607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}