"It is truly a proud day for South Jerseyans.  The USS New Jersey, which was built by many South Jersey residents on the Delaware River, is returning home," said Andrews.  "I am gratified that Secretary of the United States Navy decided based on the facts of both applications that the best permanent site for the U.S.S. New Jersey is in South Jersey, on the Delaware River, where she was built and launched half a century ago."

"I would like to thank all those who have tirelessly worked to make this day possible, first and foremost the veterans of South Jersey who have a special bond with this great ship, and all the other thousands of South Jersey citizens who have made their voice heard," Andrews continued.  "I want to publicly recognize my esteemed colleague, Congressman Jim Saxton, for his unparalleled leadership to make this happen today.  Congressman Saxton used his voice and influence as a senior Member of the Armed Services Committee to bring this issue to the Navy's attention, and to urge the Secretary of the Navy to make a fair determination on the merits of the case.  In addition, many thanks to the leaders of the Homeport Alliance, Freeholder Patricia Jones, Mayor Milton Milan and Senator John Matheussen, as well as Captain David McGuigan, USN (Ret.) and Rear Admiral Thomas Siegenthaler USN (Ret.), for their tireless devotion to this cause."

“We were the underdog from beginning to end, and today we see the culmination of a lot of hard work from many, many people,” Saxton said. “I have always been hopeful that the Navy would return the Big J to the Delaware Valley where it was built. Naval history is strong in the Delaware River, where the Navy itself was created. It is a fitting place for one of the most powerful, one of the most decorated ships ever to sail anywhere. Sometimes the underdog gets the bone.”

Saxton is the eighth ranking majority member of the House Armed Services Committee, and sits on the Merchant Marine Panel which oversees the Panama Canal Commission.

The decision to berth the ship in Camden is the final decision in a series of victories in support of a permanent berth site for the battleship South Jersey.  First, a state commission that was stacked with Northern New Jersey members declared that Bayonne would be the permanent site of the battleship memorial -- but this power grab was blocked when Congressmen Andrews and Saxton reminded all parties that this is a federal decision to be made by the U.S. Navy.  Then, in September, Andrews, Saxton, and the members of the Homeport Alliance garnered the support of 22 area Congressman in favor of the Camden waterfront site for the battleship, as well as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Next, the director of a floating naval museum in New York Harbor, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, said the USS New Jersey should not be permanently berthed in nearby Bayonne.  The Army Corps of Engineers then determined that the Bayonne site is lacking the required permits to berth the U.S.S. New Jersey, because the draft of the channel in which the battleship was proposed to be berthed was too shallow and would need to be dredged.  The Camden site has complied with all environmental and engineering requirements.  Most recently, In August, the Government Accounting Office concluded that the New Jersey Battleship Commission, which has applied to berth the battleship in Bayonne, had paid $14,100 for ammunition from the U.S.S. New Jersey.  The Navy Donations Office, concerned that this was a ploy to stack the deck in Bayonne's favor, refunded the $14,100 to the Battleship Commission and declared that the ammunition will be awarded as part of the battleship. The G.A.O assured Congressmen Andrews and Saxton that there is no mention of the ammunition in the Bayonne application and that both Camden's and Bayonne's applications are receiving fair and equal treatment.