USS SLATER is the only WWII Destroyer Escort that remains afloat in America. During the war 563 DEs battled Nazi U-Boats on the North Atlantic protecting convoys of men and supplies. In the Pacific, they stood first in line to defend naval task forces from Kamikaze attacks. Step back in time to 1945, aboard SLATER to see how Sailors worked, walk the decks where hundreds of Sailors have walked before, hear the sounds of a living ship, and touch a piece of American history.
In 1915, right here in Albany, Charles M. Stern Jr. was born. He was killed in action during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He would be eternally remembered as a hero when a Destroyer Escort was named in his honor. USS STERN (DE-187) was a cannon class DE, identical to SLATER. After earning 3 battle stars in WWII, the STERN would be transferred to the Netherlands and renamed VAN ZIJLL, where she served 17 years before being scrapped.
Albany's Dutch history reaches well beyond the 1600s.
This fully-guided tour of the ship takes one hour.
Open: April through November, Wednesday through Sunday 10 – 4.
Admission fees: adults $9; seniors (65+) $8; children (6-14) $7; children 5 and under (with family) free.
www.ussslater.org
Drive back on Broadway, turn left on Madison Avenue and turn right on South Pearl Street.
