Navy celebrates 234th Birthday

The U.S. Navy celebrated its 234th birthday locally Tuesday with two events in Norfolk.

The day started with NFL Hall of Famer and Norfok-native Bruce Smith speaking to sailors about teamwork and leadership at Naval Station Norfolk.

At sunset, the day ended with a birthday celebration aboard the Battleship Wisconsin in downtown Norfolk.

Both events are part of Fleet Week Hampton Roads, held each October to commemorate the Navy birthday and recognize the sacrifices and contributions of Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. This year's commemoration ends this weekend with the NAS Oceana Air Show .

The U.S. Navy traces its birthday to the Continental Navy, which was established on October 13, 1775, when the Continental Congress voted to authorize the procurement, manning, and dispatch of two armed sailing vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America.

The October 13th date was made the official 'birthday date' in 1972 by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt.