End of an Era - NRC Erie Closes

Image Courtesy of Erie News Now

The United States Navy, and the rest of our Armed Forces, is steeped in tradition with precedence dating back to the founding of our nation in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War. The Navy is filled with ceremony. Whether it be a change in command, to piping officers aboard, there is always written guidance that details how everything must be done to create uniformity and familiarity. On April 7, 2024, Navy Reserve Center (NRC) in Erie, Pennsylvania concluded what would be a nearly 211-year relationship between the Navy and the City of Erie.

According to the U.S. Naval Institute, a decommissioning ceremony should include the “disembarking of the crew, securing [of the] watch, retiring the ensign and jack, and hauling down the commissioning pennant.” [1] It is usually a somber ceremony as it wraps up the story of the command in a bow – this is especially true for the members and families of those assigned to the ship, command, and reserve center. There were members of Erie’s Reserve who dedicated their entire careers to drilling, serving, and even deploying from the building on Old French Road.

SW1 (Steelworker 1st Class) Johnson welding frame on deployment, Summer 2022

For me, I rebooted my Navy career here in Erie after a two-year gap in service. Following an Oath of Enlistment here at work at the Maritime Museum, I began drilling at [formerly NOSC] Erie on February 1st, 2020, shortly before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I can distinctly recall now-retired, Chief Yeoman Eric Anglikowski poking his head into the waiting room adjacent to the Quarterdeck to welcome me aboard and congratulate me for “rejoining his Navy”. He is one man who made an immediate impact on me and was the first to call and congratulate me for my promotion to Petty Officer First Class after he had already retired.

I was mobilized and sent overseas one year into my time at NRC Erie. Even during that entire time, members of my unit were constantly offering help to my wife and kids back home. It was a family setting – a small reserve center that could barely pack a middle school classroom. Chief Anglikowski, among others, was the type of leader who would mentor anyone who wanted it; whether it be in uniform guidance, or how to go about getting help with personnel records. That was the type of place NRC Erie was – extremely close-knit!

When I returned home, and I am sorry to make this blog about me, it wasn’t long before murmurs from higher began creeping up stating that the reserve center would be shut down. Fast-forward to late 2023 and the news came down, we were all asked where we wanted to drill. By Christmas, most sailors and officers from Erie were dispersed out to places like Akron, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo.

Presque Isle Naval Station, Winter 1814 - Courtesy of Peter Rindlisbacher

Members of NRC Erie at wreath laying ceremony for the 210th Anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie at berth of U.S. Brig Niagara, September 10, 2023

(From left to right) Mr. Ed Bolla, Docent Erie Maritime Museum; SW1 Charles Johnson, LCDR Brian Burke

To put this into perspective, the Navy has been a constant presence in Erie, dating to 1813 when Daniel Dobbins returned from Washington with a draft of Navy funds to construct four gunboats at Presque Isle. A Naval Station was founded and would be in existence through the War of 1812. In 1844, the USS Michigan breathed new life into the Navy on the Great Lakes. Over the ensuing decades, waves of sailors found their way to Erie to train and sail aboard Michigan. During the Civil War, the ship was used as a recruiting vessel, sending sailors to ships around North America – from the Atlantic Blockade to the Gulf, and down the Mississippi River. Some of Erie’s sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their sea service during the war.

One alumnus of USS Michigan was Charles Vernon Gridley, an Erie transplant who was in command of USS Olympia during the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. On the eve of America’s declaration of war in 1914, some of Pennsylvania’s first to answer the call were crew from USS Wolverine (Michigan was rechristened in 1905 to Wolverine following the commissioning of the Battleship Michigan).

After World War One and the establishment of the Navy Reserve, Erie became one of the first dedicated reserve centers in the country. Organized as Divisions 4 and 5, they initially met on the fourth floor of a building downtown, sharing their address with a tavern (shocker), garage, and a dry cleaner. In 1935, Erie’s reserve units were nationally recognized as the most “outstanding Naval Reserve Division”. By WWII, the group moved into a former roller rink and dance hall at 1916 State Street in Erie. By April and May of 1942, over 100 local officers and enlisted men were dispatched around the world in support of the Second World War. By the late 1950s, the sheer complement of the Reserve Center forced the Navy to look for a new home.

Local designers Nelson, Goldbert, and Geidt designed the current facility in the early 1960s with plans to build a 99’ wide, 260’ long, and 22’ high center with parking spaces for over 200 vehicles. The project totaled $1,000,000 and on February 6, 1963, Admiral R.W. Cavanaugh dedicated the center. Since then, sailors from Erie and the surrounding regions have served locally and abroad from the jungles of Vietnam to the waters of the Persian Gulf and beyond.

Decommissioning the NRC

This month, dozens of retired Navy, local dignitaries, and current Reserve and Active Sailors participated in the NRC Erie disestablishment ceremony. RADM Eric Peterson served as the Guest Speaker of the events which included outgoing NRC Commanding Officer, CDR Armin Moazzami, Senior Enlisted Leader AMC Anthony Lunsford, REDCOM GL Captain Shadrick Williams, Chaplin, CDR Erik Young, and the Master of Ceremony LCDR Brian Burke. Side Boys included YN1 (RET) Shawn Schwartz, EM1 Joseph Mattern, YN1 Dana Uber, SW1 Charles Johnson, LS2 Tyree Hudson, and MA2 Nathan Carlson.

In addition to being there myself, one of the Erie Maritime Museum’s docents GMMC (RET) Robert Hicks who entered the Navy Reserve, commissioned the new NRC in 1963 and was present at its closing in 2024.

In conclusion, this marks the end of 211 years of combined naval service in Erie. A tremendous honor but, to paraphrase Mr. Hicks, the Navy isn’t going anywhere – Erie will always be a Navy Town.

Crew of USS Wolverine

Selection of Images from the Reserve In Erie

Images Under Consideration of Collection of Erie Maritime Museum, Courtest of NRC Erie, Pennsylvania, CDR Armin Moazzami