Memorial Day
ceremony honors
fallen veterans
T
he City of McKeesport honored
fallen veterans with a ceremony
at Memorial Park along Lysle
Boulevard on Memorial Day.
Participants included local veterans, public
officials, and members of the McKeesport
Area High School Band. “All too often,
we lose sight of the true meaning of
Memorial Day,” Mayor Michael Cherepko
said. “With so many people across the
country focused on sales at their favorite
stores or picnics with their loved ones, we
must stop to reflect on those who gave
their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. We
should thank our veterans for their service
at every opportunity, but today we should
remember those who made the ultimate
sacrifice. As it is said among our veterans,
all gave some, but some gave all.”
Community honors memory of SS McKeesport
E
ach year, veterans, dignitaries
and community residents
gather at McKees Point – the
Marina, or the Palisades – to
remember the SS McKeesport. They come
together not only to mourn the loss of
this ship, as it sank on April 29, 1943, but
also remember its service to the United
States.
This year, the SS McKeesport
committee hosted a ceremony and
luncheon at the Jacob Woll Pavilion in
Renziehausen Park to honor the 75th
anniversary of the ship’s final voyage.
After transporting supplies to England
on that fateful day in 1943, the SS
McKeesport sank in the North Atlantic
Ocean after being torpedoed by a
German U-boat. But this ship’s history
extends far beyond its role in World
War II; the SS McKeesport was an old
merchant ship that was pressed into
service as that war progressed.
The S.S. McKeesport was a steamship
built by the Federal Shipbuilding and
Drydock Co. in Kearny, New Jersey.
The ship was built in part with steel
supplied by the National Tube Works in
McKeesport, and at the time of the ship’s
launch, members of that local company
and their families participated in the
program. It was one of thirty ships built
at the U.S. Steel plant in Kearny, and so
was named like all the others in honor of
towns where U.S. Steel operated mills.
The S.S. McKeesport’s top speed was
approximately 11 knots as it first set sail
in 1919 and went on to serve this nation
and Allied Forces in three ways – as a
civilian cargo carrier, as a Red Cross ship,
and in its role with supply convoy that led
to its demise.
Pennsylvania American donates to McKeesport Fire Department
P
ennsylvania American Water
announced today that 68
emergency service organizations
across the Commonwealth
received grants totaling approximately
$50,000 through its annual Firefighting
Support Grant Program. The company
awards the grants to support local fire
departments and emergency services
in purchasing protective gear, lifesaving
equipment, firefighting apparatus and
training materials.
“We are proud to support the critically
important service provided by our
communities’ emergency responders,” said
Pennsylvania American Water President
Jeffrey L. McIntyre. “At a time
when funding and volunteers
are stretched thin at many fire
departments, our Firefighting
Support Grants enable us to partner
with and assist the dedicated men
and women who put their lives on
the line to protect our customers’
homes and businesses.”
Pennsylvania American Water
awarded grants to emergency
service organizations, including a
$1,000 donation to the McKeesport Fire
Department.
MCKEESPORT AREA
❘
SUMMER 2018
29