Monthly Archives: October 2025

WE NEED YOUR HELP – Keep the SS Jeremiah O’Brien Sailing

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Members in the Bay Area may be interested in this unique opportunity during San Francisco Fleet Week.

SS Jeremiah O’Brien

We Need Your Help!

Fleet Week Cruises Still On

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Friends of the O’Brien,

We need to be honest with you. Fleet Week is one of the most important times of year for the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, and this year’s government shutdown has left us in real danger. With the Blue Angels and U.S. Military absent from Fleet Week 2025, ticket sales are not where they need to be. Without your help, our future is at risk.

The Fleet Week Cruises have always provided a substantial portion of our operating revenue. If we don’t sell as many tickets as possible this year, we face a serious challenge to keep this ship afloat and prepare for our vital 2027 drydock.

But Fleet Week is not canceled. International ships will still be arriving in San Francisco, and the Canadian Snowbirds have generously agreed to stand in for the absent Blue Angels and provide an hour and a half long airshow. And most importantly, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien will still sail, rain or shine.

This year, your ticket means more than ever:

A day on the Bay aboard the only original and operational WWII Liberty Ship.
The farewell performance of the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra
Hot dogs, chips, soft drinks, beer, and wine are available, along with docent-led ship tours
Our Silent Auction with unique naval memorabilia and tour opportunities
Or just sit back and enjoy the sights of San Francisco Bay as you rarely have the opportunity to see them!

Ticket Prices:

Adults: $195
Youth (8–18): $125
Family Package (2 adults + 2 youth): $550
Children 7 and under: Free

Tickets are non-refundable, and every dollar directly supports the operation of the O’Brien.

Boarding: 8:30 AM | Departure: 10:00 AM | Return: 5:00 PM
Tickets will also be available at the pier on the day of sailing.

It’s important to remember: Liberty Ships were not military warships, but Merchant Marine vessels. Crewed by civilian mariners with support from Naval gunners, they carried the supplies that made victory over fascism possible during World War 2. The O’Brien is one of just two Liberty Ships still sailing in the world.

If you’ve ever thought of joining us for Fleet Week, now is the time. We need your support more than ever. Please don’t wait! Reserve today, or plan to purchase your ticket at the door. Your presence this Fleet Week may be the difference in keeping the O’Brien alive for generations to come.

Reserve Your Tickets Now

With gratitude and urgency,
— The SS Jeremiah O’Brien Crew

View online

National Liberty Ship Memorial
Pier 45, Suite 4A, San Francisco, CA 94133
©2025 National Liberty Ship Memorial

Undying love, Part 2: A grieving mother secrets her Great War soldier son’s remains home to Canada

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

Captain William Arthur Peel Durie died near Hill 70 in France in late December 1917. [LAC]

Undying love, Part 2: A grieving mother secrets her Great War soldier son’s remains home to Canada

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Three years later to the day of Captain William Arthur Peel Durie’s death, a soldier wrote Durie’s mother Anna to tell her details of how “Bill” died as he made his way along the communication trench a half-hour into the attack.

“In December we were ordered to the Trenches in a very wicked part of the line just North of ‘Lens,’” W.H. Edwards wrote in 1920, “and on December 29, 1917, the ‘Hun’ placed a very heavy Gunfire ‘barrage’ on our front, resulting in Bills’ [sic] men catching it very heavy.

“As usual, he was out in it all, encouraging his men, when he could have been lying in his dugout under cover, but not him, out he went, collected the few men left, and stayed with them, until his sergeant remonstrated with him to get below, he refused to leave and was struck down, resulting in the loss of the biggest man the Battalion ever had.”

Historian Debbie Jiang poses with photos of Japanese-Canadian WW I veterans Hikotaro Koyanagi and Kazuo Harada whose names were added to the cenotaph in Richmond, B.C., in October 2024. [Courtesy Debbie Jiang]

Forgotten Japanese-Canadian soldiers added to Richmond, B.C., cenotaph

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Richmond, B.C., historian Debbie Jiang used to gaze upon the local cenotaph in traffic. “Every time I drove by,” she said to Legion Magazine, “I’d stop at a red light on No. 3 Road. There, I’d look at the side displaying the First World War. It always got me wondering if there could potentially be missing names.”

She was right on at least two counts—and potentially, indeed likely, more.

Japanese-Canadian soldiers Hikotaro Koyanagi and Kazuo Harada fought and died within nine months of each other during the Great War. Both adorned the uniform of a country that didn’t allow them to vote, that denied them the equal rights afforded to a sizable proportion of white compatriots, and treated them like second-class citizens—or frequently, worse. Yet die for Canada they did.

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🚨 Less Than 75 Days Until National Wreaths Across America Day

Less Than 75 Days Until National Wreaths Across America Day

We are less than 75 days away from National Wreaths Across America Day! Are you looking to get involved? Click the button below to learn about volunteer opportunities, including wreath laying at a participating location near you.

It’s never too late to join our Sponsorship Group Program! You can start fundraising immediately. Learn more here.

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Last TEACH Webinar of 2025!

Don’t miss out on the last TEACH webinar of 2025! This month, we’ll be joined by Joseph Karb, Executive Director of the Korean War Legacy Foundation.

Learn more and register below! Even if you can’t attend, be sure to register so you can receive the recorded session right in your inbox.

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We are deeply grateful to Chevrolet and HP for their continued support of the Wreaths Across America mission. Your commitment helps us ensure that every hero is remembered, honored, and taught to future generations. Through your generosity and partnership, we are able to expand our reach, engage more communities, and carry forward the important work of placing wreaths on the headstones of our nation’s veterans. Thank you for standing with us and for sharing in this mission to remember, honor and teach.

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Make sure to follow Wreaths Across America official channels on social media for the most up-to-the-minute news on the mission throughout the year:

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