September 11
A Canadian Naval Reserve Vessel in the Shadow of the World Trade Center
On September 11th, 2011 I am having a Canadian Naval Reserve flashback ... In May, 1989 the summer Naval Reserve Training season was underway. The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces was then 21 years old, but things were looking up. Distinctive Environment Uniforms were back (navy blue uniforms for the navy), 12 new Frigates were on order as were 12 new Naval Reserve-specific MCD vessels. The venerable Gate Vessels were the primary training platform for the Naval Reserve. Onboard HMCS Porte St. Louis you could still use the World Trade Center as a steering landmark when approaching New York City. By 1995 the Gate Vessels were gone and by sunset of September 11, 2001, so was the World Trade Center. The demise of the Gate vessels is of nostalgic interest to a generation of Reservists, but the demise of the World Trade Center, will be of global significance for a long time to come.
To quote from this article please cite:
Clearihue, Bill (2011) A Canadian Naval Reserve Vessel in the Shadow of the World Trade Center. Nauticapedia.ca 2011. https://nauticapedia.nauticapedia.info/articles.php?article=310
