I have visited four memorial battleships. Was aboard USS New Jersey in September 2022. The site was fairly easy to find, ample nearby parking. Getting aboard was easy. Having worked in a naval shipyard (Norfolk) I did my own tour (I had previously looked over some ship deck plans.) Getting around was only hindered because there was ongoing restoration blocking some of the "self-guided" tour routes. I easily found my way around those problems. Volunteers were extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and were willing to chat about anything I wanted to know. Plentiful exhibits and informative postings. Was pleasantly surprised by the excellent material condition considering the age of the ship. Hope to return in late 2023 to see recently restored areas and places I missed on my first visit. Very nice souvenir shop, employees were friendly and helpful.
My husband, Howard Sands, was a volunteer on the Battleship New Jersey until he was no longer able to serve because of Alzheimer's Disease. It was a labor of love for him, as someone who had always been interested in World War II history, although he had never served in the military. He loved sharing his interest in the ship and its history with visitors. He also made a wonderful friend on the ship, volunteer Bill O'Neill , who unfortunately died in November 2020. When Howard died in March 2021 we were pleased to be able to request that donations in his memory be considered for BB 62.
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My husband, Howard Sands, was a docent on the battleship New Jersey for many years. He has always been a World War II buff and after we visited BB-62 shortly after it opened he said he wanted to volunteer on the battleship when he retired. In fact, he started training to be a docent days after retiring on July 31, 2006. He led tours of school and camp groups as well as individuals for a number of years and then became a station docent in the Captain's Cabin, sharing stories of the admirals, swimming pool and other interesting facts about these quarters and the entire ship with visitors. Even after dementia robbed Howard of the ability to interact with those touring the ship we sometimes visited the ship and the Captain's Captain when Bill O'Neill was the docent on duty. Howard and Bill became good friends while volunteering on the battleship New Jersey and Bill still keeps in touch with us. Howard's experiences on BB-62 were wonderful and became an important part of his life, and over the years hundreds of people benefited from his interest in and knowledge about the ship.
I was stationed on the USS New Jersey for over 4 years of my time in the Navy. She took great care of her crew as we did her. I have been a proud donor to keep her clean and maintained since 1982, and since her decommissioning as a museum in Camden New Jersey. Please consider helping keep her as a treasured museum.
Every interaction I have had has been overwhelmingly positive! They actually respond to emails, which is how I ended up donating something for a space they were renovating. They were wildly accommodating.. to the point where where I made a snap decision to fire the 5"/38, which was amazing, btw. After completing the self guided tours, my friend and I got to spend significant time with both the Curator and the Education Director.. both of which are extremely knowledgeable and both have great personalities and senses of humor. We even got to see *that day* completed spaces and many other off tour cool things to see! I've since become a member and have donated again!
I am a Vietnam Army Vet but enjoy all the events at the ship and love the way you can remember for Fathers & Mothers on the pier. My wife and I made a donation for a brick remembering our fathers who were a Marine and a Navy vet.
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This is living History you can touch and walk in the foot prints of American Heroes like Admiral Halsey. As a Vietnam Vet she was a life saver to many of us and is what brought the North Vietnamese to the peace table. The most Decorated Ship in the US Navy she served from WW II to the Iraqi Conflict. Unlike some Iowa Class Battleships she is armed for combat as in her last engagement with modern weaponry and has a full museum on board. The perfect place for Families and groups to learn of the life of a sailor and the Greatest Battleship ever built.
I first visited the Battleship New Jersey in 2001. I've been back a number of times since then, most recently this past August. As a child, I grew up watching the acclaimed television series "Victory at Sea." In my undergraduate and graduate years in college, I studied WWII in depth. Yet to actually walk on the teak decks of the New Jersey and see up close, her 16 inch guns, sends a chill through me since this great fighting ship represents the great freedoms that our country has fought and died for through out the ship's many battles. All Americans, regardless of their political affiliations in these difficult times should visit this great fighting ship and share in the experience of a time when we as a people were all united in the fight for liberty and freedom throughout the world.
Superior restoration and level of knowledge of the Docents makes this nonprofit a wonderful organization that gives back history to the young in what it has taken to preserve freedom over this ships 4 times in service of her country. Well done!
I LOVE the Battleship New Jersey! This beauty is an integral part of our nation's history and a big protector of American freedom! Please support the Battleship!
The USS New Jersey is an amazing experience! The history of the ship and the people who served on it is fascinating, and the volunteers are such a deep source of knowledge. There is so much to see and experience it is worth visiting more than once.
Review from Guidestar
The volunteers and staff of the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial are doing a fantastic job preserving, restoring, and interpreting the ship for current and future generations. In 2001 the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial opened for tours on the Camden Waterfront. More than a million visitors have toured the ship over the past 15 years. The ship is directly across the river from Philadelphia, which hosts approximately 40 million tourists each year and is home to the USS Olympia, the oldest steel warship still afloat in the world. Today the New Jersey continues her ongoing mission – to teach the public the history and workings of this great ship, and the stories of the tens of thousands of Sailors and Marines who proudly served onboard from 1943 to 1991. Sometimes visitors hear those stories directly from the source – there are many former crewmembers who serve as tour guides, docents, and volunteers. The Battleship’s self-guided audio tours also feature crewmember stories, and the Museum has recorded the stories of more than 300 veterans through its ongoing Oral History program. The Battleship is also a fantastic resource for teaching kids about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The New Jersey was a technological marvel when she was launched, and even in the 1980s and 90s she was equipped with state of the art weapons systems. The Battleship gives visitors guided and self-guided tours. One of the ways the museum seeks to educate visitors is by allowing them to “touch history.” Unlike some museum ships that put most of their spaces behind Plexiglas, the New Jersey lets visitors get up close and personal with the Ship. You can aim her .50 caliber machine guns. You can operate a hoist to take a 16” shell up to the gun house from the shell deck. You can load powder bags onto the hoists. You can even pull the trigger to fire the 16” guns (simulated, of course.) The ship has special events throughout the year, like World War II Victory Day and Vietnam War Living History Day. The Battleship offers group tours, many of which are taken by area schoolchildren. The ship can host any kind of event, like weddings, retirement parties, birthdays, book clubs, you name it. And the ship has an award winning overnight program. Groups of any size – from as small as one adult and one child, to as large as 250 adults and kids – can spend the night on the Battleship, sleeping in the bunks used by sailors, and eating dinner and breakfast in the mess hall. For one night, you can experience a taste of what life was like for Sailors and Marines on the ship.
Review from Guidestar