Veterans, officials and others attend the annual Richard Somers Day event in Somers Point, which honors the 19th century naval hero who was born in the city and who is descended from the family for which the city is named.
Edward Lea photos, Staff Photographer
Somers was commanding a fire boat called the Intrepid during the First Barbary War when it exploded in Tripoli Harbor in 1804 in modern-day Libya. He was buried with his 12-member crew in a mass grave near the shore.
Edward Lea, Staff Photographer
Richard Somers was born at Bethel and Shore roads in Somers Point in 1778. He attended Episcopal Academy in Burlington County and began his naval career when Commodore John Barry, a family friend, recruited him as a junior officer.
Edward Lea, Staff Photographer
Bob Plante represents the USS Somers Crewmembers Association, a group of veterans who served on destroyers named after Somers. The group’s goals are to repatriate Somers’ body to the U.S. and to see more ships named after Somers.
Residents, elected officials and veterans congregated at the memorial park along Shore Road to hear speeches while sitting in the shadow of a large American flag, raised by the city’s Fire Department.
“What a special day it is here in Somers Point,” Mayor Jack Glasser told the crowd. “He (Somers) will always be remembered by this town.”
Somers, a fourth-generation descendant of the John Somers who founded Somers Point, was commanding a fire boat called the Intrepid during the First Barbary War when it exploded in Tripoli Harbor in 1804 in modern-day Libya. He was buried with his 12-member crew in a mass grave near the shore.
Since that time, his family and members of the community have sought to have Somers’ remains exhumed and brought back to his hometown.
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“We will always continue to try to get his remains returned to Somers Point,” Glasser said. “It’s a task that I have a passion for. ... We want them home. As a veteran, we’ve always lived to say that we don’t leave anyone behind. But we have left Somers and the crew of the Intrepid behind.”
Somers was born at Bethel and Shore roads in Somers Point in 1778. He attended Episcopal Academy in Burlington County and began his naval career when Commodore John Barry, a family friend, recruited him as a junior officer.
“He was quite an extraordinary man who gained quite a reputation in his very short life,” said Donna Mohr, of the Somers Point Historic Preservation Commission. “It’s believed that Richard first went to sea around the time of his father’s death in September of 1794. He was just barely 16 years old.”
This year’s event also marked the 10th reunion of the USS Somers Crewmembers Association, a group of veterans who served on destroyers named after Somers.
The USS Somers destroyers were commissioned April 3, 1959, and were in service until Nov. 19, 1982.
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Since then, crew members far and wide have connected to share their experiences and memories from their time on the ships.
“We (the association) had our initial meeting on April 26, 2010, and we had located 20 individuals who had served on the USS Somers DD947,” member Bob Plante told the crowd. “It wasn’t even 18 months later that we broke 200 (former crew members), and as of today, we have 361 members that served aboard the three ships.”
Plante said the association has two objectives.
“We will fight to get Richard Somers back on U.S. soil,” Plante said. “And we will continue our fight to get another ship named USS Somers.”
At the end of the speeches, Lynn MacEwan, vice president of the Somers Point Historical Society, read off each name of the crew on the Intrepid, after which a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace.”
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Veterans, officials and others attend the annual Richard Somers Day event in Somers Point, which honors the 19th century naval hero who was born in the city and who is descended from the family for which the city is named.
Somers was commanding a fire boat called the Intrepid during the First Barbary War when it exploded in Tripoli Harbor in 1804 in modern-day Libya. He was buried with his 12-member crew in a mass grave near the shore.
Richard Somers was born at Bethel and Shore roads in Somers Point in 1778. He attended Episcopal Academy in Burlington County and began his naval career when Commodore John Barry, a family friend, recruited him as a junior officer.
Bob Plante represents the USS Somers Crewmembers Association, a group of veterans who served on destroyers named after Somers. The group’s goals are to repatriate Somers’ body to the U.S. and to see more ships named after Somers.
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.