Navy Destroyer To Visit Eastport For Fourth of July Celebration

The state's biggest Fourth of July celebration is going to feature about 280 special guests.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that Eastport will get a port visit during the city’s 2018 Fourth of July celebration. The U.S. Navy is sending the destroyer USS McFaul and its crew of approximately 280 sailors to Eastport.

In a press release, the senators said:

We are pleased that the U.S. Navy will honor our state with this port visit during Eastport’s popular Fourth of July Festival. This visit will provide those who serve in the U.S. Navy and the citizens they protect an opportunity to come together to celebrate our independence. We thank the Navy for making this visit possible.

The Eastport Fourth of July parade and festival is the largest in Maine.

Although the USS McFaul is a Arleigh Burke-class destroyer like the ones built at Bath Iron Works here in Maine, DDG-74 was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.