USS Farragut sailors visit namesake town for Independence Day

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Sailors from the USS Farragut visited their ship’s namesake this Independence Day to participate in Farragut’s annual parade.

The crew returned from deployment earlier this year, where they worked with a joint task force on counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea.

The commanding officer and a few crewmembers walked in the parade to meet the community and get to know the area the first Navy Admiral David Glasgow Farragut grew up in.

“It’s just another connection to this ship and its namesake that we can actually see, touch, and it’s a tangible thing,” said USS Farragut Command Master Chief E.J. Kelly said.

Kelly said visiting the admiral’s hometown has given them a new appreciation for they do.

“It is amazing to see the community where our ship is named for. It’s such an avid proponent of the military and so receptive of us,” he said.

While most crewmembers are from different states, auxiliaries officer Lt. JG Joseph Stuckart calls East Tennessee home.

“It kind of takes us back to our roots. Sometimes when you’re working all day, every day, you kind of forget what it’s like or why you may have joined the Navy in the first place,” he said. “And then you come to something like this, and you realize that this is the greatest country in the world and that’s why we’re doing it.”

Although none of the sailors have visited Farragut before, Stuckart said they were welcomed by the community.

“I think the best experience that I had as I was walking to the parade was meeting all the veterans, and to come to their town and kind of see what they have to offer here as well, and it was a very memorable moment I think, for both sides, us and them,” said Stuckart.

The sailors said they were honored to walk in the parade, and they hope to bring a bit of the town of Farragut’s spirit back with them.

“I think everybody that’s here will obviously take it back and kind of talk about what the namesake town is all about, and how well we were received, and how much they love the military and the Navy and the sailors on board the ship,” said Kelly.

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