Washington, DC – After a key decision last week paving the way to designate the USS Slater, one of the remaining World War II naval ships and only destroyer escort afloat in the United States, as a National Historic Landmark, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is renewing her call for its final approval, a decision expected within months.
In her letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Senator Gillibrand wrote, “The USS Slater played a prominent role in American naval strategy and operations during World War II and is the most well-preserved example of a destroyer escort in the world today… Restored officers’ quarters, artifacts, uniforms, and a complete set of signal flags help visitors to the ship gain a thorough and realistic understanding of what serving on this ship was like, as well as a better appreciation for the USS Slater’s enormous contributions to the victory of the Allied forces.”
The USS Slater was nominated by the National Park System Advisory Board Landmarks Committee, leaving Secretary Salazar’s approval the last step for the USS Slater to be designated a National Historic Landmark.
The designation would provide greatly needed resources to further preserve and maintain the USS Slater DE-766, which is docked on the Hudson River in Albany. The USS Slater, which served in the United States Navy fleet during World War II, has undergone an extensive 17-year restoration to its 1945 configuration. The ship is named after an Alabama sailor, Frank Slater, who was killed during World War II.