Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

At least 13 are dead and more injured after a US Naval Reservist embarked on a shooting rampage at the old Washington Naval Yard.

Amongst those killed is the shooter, a 34 year old black Texan male, Aaron Alexis who had served in the US Navy from 2007-2011. He had been  discharged after a series of misconduct issues.

Aaron was armed with a machine gun, a pistol and some reports mention a rifle.

At the time, he was working at the Yard as a Defence IT sub contractor for Hewlett Packard, and had been upgrading equipment at the Yard.

The Washington Navy Yard is the oldest US Navy's shore establishment established on October 2 back in 1799.

I was instrumental in Canberra's bell coming to Australia and being on loan in five years licks, as by US law no foreign country may own US artifacts.

This incident brought back earlier happy memories, on the day before  9/11 in 2001, President George Bush presented the ship's bell from USS Canberra to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

I was sunk in HMAS Canberra at the Battle of Savo Island on the night of August 9 1942.

The bell from USS Canberra was struck and used inverted as the font to christen my son Raymond on Mother's Day in 1967, when the ship was alongside at Port Melbourne.

Her Captain, Edwin Rosenberg USN became his Godfather, and Lady Dixon who had launched the ship in the United States became Raymond's Godmother.