100 Years Ago Today...

Give or take a day.

I cannot believe that, between them, the Seattle Post-Intelligence and the Seattle Ties have published 3 articles, and one OpEd/Commentary piece, on the subject of the centennial of the arrival of a portion of President Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet in Elliot Bay to visit Seattle.
I'm amazed they don't deplore the name--inspired by the shiny white paint job the ships got before leaving home--or it's connection with T.R.

Grand Seattle welcome for Navy destroyers

Grand recognition of U.S. Navy's Great White Fleet

Interestingly enough, these are the same article, under two different titles...

Last updated May 20, 2008 12:07 p.m. PT

Fireboat greets Navy ships in Seattle

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE -- A Seattle fire boat sprayed water to greet two Navy ships that arrived at noon in Elliott Bay. The ships, the Rushmore and Preble, are on a tour of ports to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great White Fleet that President Theodore Roosevelt sent around the world as a show of force.

Yes, not even a full column inch. Oh, well...

The Preble. Now there's a name to conjure by...

And, finally:

Great White Fleet's mission resonates 100 years later, by Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy.

In his 1906 letter to the secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt was emphatic about the role of public support for the Navy in a democracy, saying "the Army and Navy can only be so good as the mass of the people wish them to be."

The American people deserve to understand why it is vital to our security and to the protection of our interests to maintain a strong Navy-Marine Corps team — not only during wartime but in times of peace. The future of the United States as a great nation depends on our continued maritime superiority, and a long-term perspective.

As the Navy returns to Seattle, let us all reflect on President Roosevelt's vision and the benefits of the Great White Fleet world tour and celebrate this great achievement in the history of the United States and its great Navy.

Oh, and I say "give or take a day" because the sources seem to differ on whether the ships of the Great White Fleet arrived on the 20th, the 21st, or the 23rd. C'est la Baton Grand...