New USS Cleveland to pass by Vermilion on May 9

Residents will have a chance to see a historic voyage next month as the new USS Cleveland will pass by Vermilion en route to being commissioned in its namesake city. When the USS Cleveland is commissioned — formally entered into service — in Cleveland on May 16, it will become the first U.S. Navy vessel ever commissioned in Ohio. According to the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation, the ship will pass by Vermilion on May 9 on its way to Cleveland. Sandra Coe, executive director of the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce, said that the vessel would pass within a half-mile of the shore and would be escorted, in part, by the Vermilion Marine Patrol. Residents and visitors are invited to gather at Main Street Beach on the morning of May 9 to watch the ship pass and show their support for its crew. An exact time of the passage will be announced at a later date. "Bring your flags, gather your friends and family and help give a warm Vermilion welcome as it passes by," Coe said in a news release. The USS Cleveland, also called LCS 31, will arrive in Cleveland later on May 9, and the Legacy Foundation has a week of events planned between then and its commissioning day on May 16 at 10 a.m. There will be a community day to welcome the ship's crew to Cleveland on May 10, and tours will be held May 10-13. To register for events, visit events.usscleveland.org. The USS Cleveland is a littoral combat ship, meaning that it is a vessel designed for combat near the shore and in shallow coastal waters. After it is commissioned, it will move to its permanent homeport in Mayport, Florida, the Navy said. It is a member of the Navy's Freedom-variant class, named for the first ship in the class, the USS Freedom. The USS Cleveland is the 16th and final member of the Freedom class, which was delivered to the U.S. Navy in November. Like all ships of the Freedom class, it was built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. According to the Navy, the USS Cleveland is the fourth ship to bear the name of the city. The first USS Cleveland was a Denver-class protected cruiser that served as the flagship of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet and protected convoys during World War I. The second ship was a Cleveland-class light cruiser, which was commissioned in 1942 and saw extensive combat in the Pacific Theater of World War II, including action at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The third USS Cleveland was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, which was commissioned in 1967 and was not decommissioned until 2011. It saw service in the first Gulf War and the Iraq War. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.