What is Navy Day? History of America's celebration of armed forces at sea

US Armed Forces: Quick history of the 6 military branches

The U.S. military is made up of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. Here's a quick look at each service branch and its creation.

Sunday is Navy Day, a day to celebrate the armed forces who defend our freedom and "keep our seas open and free."

Navy Day has been recognized for more than 100 years, since the Navy League of the United States established it in 1922. It’s not considered a federal holiday.

What is the history of Navy Day?

Navy Day was established on October 27, 1922, by the Navy League of the United States, according to the Department of Defense. It was not a national holiday, but President Warren Harding paid special attention to the remembrance.

FILE: The USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the US Navy is pictured at the seaport of Klaipeda, Lithuania, on August 22, 2022. (Photo by PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP via Getty Images)

"From our earliest national beginnings the Navy has always been, and deserved to be, an object of special pride to the American people," Harding wrote to Navy Secretary Edwin Denby. "Record is indeed one to inspire such sentiments, and I am very sure that such a commemoration as is planned will be a timely reminder."

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The Navy League suggested October 27 as Navy Day for two reasons: it’s the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, who was an assistant secretary of the Navy before he became president and was known as one of the Navy’s most influential strategists.

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October 27 was also the anniversary of a 1775 report issued by a special committee of the Continental Congress favoring the purchase of merchant ships as the foundation of an American Navy.

Armed Forces Day replaced Navy Day in 1949, but Navy Day is often still observed at military bases and in local communities to recognize sailors who serve and have served.

Facts about the U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy has 330,696 active duty members as of Sept. 11, 2024, including 55,416 officers and 270,861 enlisted.
Its mission is to "defend freedom, preserve economic prosperity, and keep the seas open and free."
The Navy has 297 deployable ships, of which, 77 are in use as of September.
With some 4,000 aircraft, the Navy is the second largest aviation force in the world (the U.S. Air Force is the largest).

Recent Navy battles

Houthis continue to wreak havoc in Red Sea

LiveNOW's Austin Westfall discusses the Houthis impact on the global supply chain with maritime expert Sal Mercogliano and national security analyst Hal Kempfer. (Oct. 4, 2024)

In July, the Navy was engaged in its "most sustained combat" since World War II, protecting private ships as well as U.S. allies in a vital Red Sea corridor that leads to the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen used drones and missiles to attack ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain in what they said was a campaign to support Hamas, though they frequently targeted ships with no clear links to Israel or its supporters, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.

One notable attack on January 9 involved U.S. ships and aircraft downing 18 Houthi drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and a ballistic missile.

Over the nearly nine-month deployment, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group, which includes three other warships, completed more than 13,800 flights, totaling about 31,500 hours, according to Stars and Stripes.