JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Saturday marks the 45th anniversary of the Keel Laying for the USS Stark, a celebration of the beginning of life for a ship that proudly served Naval Station Mayport in the 1980s and 1990s.
But every year the base gathers to commemorate a very different anniversary for the USS Stark.
It's a moment when the entirety of Naval Station Mayport pauses. Every May 17 a naval community reflects on the loss of 37 crew members who were killed when the USS Stark was attacked in the Persian Gulf on May 17, 1987.
"It's hard to explain how one event can frame your life," said Bernard Martin, who was a Gunner's Mate on the Stark. He left the ship mere hours before the attack.
"Every name that is called every year I see a face," said Martin, "and I've made it my mission since I left that morning to honor them, to live worthy of the sacrifice."
Nick Norfleet was a Gunner's Mate who served on the Stark for four years and will never forget sprinting to his battle station during the attack.
"I was climbing the ladder coming up behind the bridge when the second missile exploded right underneath me," said Norfleet. "My best friend Chris who had been right behind me the whole time had just gone into ricer and the explosion actually killed him, he was just a few feet away from me when he was killed."
"You'll be present forever at Naval Station Mayport, that is what I call the word honor," said Captain Brian Binder during the USS Stark memorial service on May 17, 2024.
Forever bonded because of grief, but every year, together with their Stark family.
"We all have a connection," said Norfleet, "so we all communicate with each other and keep up with a lot of them who had infant children who are now grown men and women, it's nice to see them come back and honor their parents or father who was killed."
The USS Stark was decommissioned in 1999, but every May 17 family, surviving sailors and current members of the base gather at Mayport to honor and remember those who died in the attack.
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