The home of New Jersey’s historical Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial will henceforth be named after Assemblywoman Patricia Egan Jones. The battleship’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to have the Camden pier where the U.S.S. New Jersey has been moored for nearly two decades named the “Patricia Egan Jones Battleship Pier.”
The decision to recognize the Assemblywoman by naming the pier in her honor was made as a result of her instrumental involvement in bringing the ship to South Jersey to serve as a historical museum. After the highly decorated ship’s decommission, she helped advocate for its relocation to the Camden Waterfront.
Assemblywoman Egan Jones (D-Camden and Gloucester) was also one of the founding members of the Board of Trustees of the Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc. and has helped support the non-profit organization in its efforts to preserve and operate the waterborne museum since its opening in 2001.
“I cannot begin to thank the board enough for this dedication,” said Assemblywoman Egan Jones. “The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial brings visitors to Camden while encouraging an appreciation of our nation’s history and the ship’s involvement in it. It is truly an honor to know that my name will forever be associated with this important historical site.”
The Board of Trustees also cited her many years of public service as an Assembly member, a Barrington Councilperson and both a Camden County Surrogate and Freeholder, as further evidence of her dedication to the people of New Jersey and another reason for the decision to name the pier in her honor.
“As a veteran of the Battleship New Jersey, I can say firsthand that on behalf of all of the ship’s veterans, we appreciate and thank Pat Jones for all she’s done on behalf of this great ship and museum,” said Steve Sheehan, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and a Vietnam Veteran of the Battleship.