I beg leave to inform members that [U]Real Clear History[/U], part of the online news and commentary website Real Clear Politics, has published my [U]opinion editorial[/U] entitled:
“Restoring[I] Savannah [/I]to National Maritime Day”
In this editorial, I recount the history of National Maritime Day, and the reason why May 22nd was selected as the date to commemorate our merchant mariners. (It was on May 22, 1819 that Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship [I]Savannah[/I] departed on their epochal voyage.)
I also describe how for many decades, the annual presidential proclamation for National Maritime Day always noted the [I]Savannah[/I]’s departure as the reason for selecting May 22nd for this commemoration. Then I show how any mention of the steamship in the proclamation has disappeared, leaving readers of it to wonder why that particular date was chosen.
Finally, I call upon President Obama to cure this case of historical amnesia, by specifically stating in the 2014 presidential proclamation that May 22nd was chosen for National Maritime Day because that was the date that Captain Rogers and the [I]Savannah[/I] departed on their historic voyage.
The full editorial can be read [U]here[/U].