2001 Tour of the USS Constitution & USS Cassin Young

In March of 2001, Kevin Tracy traveled with his father and uncle to the Boston Naval Shipyard. There, the Tracy Trio was granted an all-access tour by the US Navy of the 1797 USS Constitution, affectionately nicknamed "Old Ironsides", and the 1943 Fletcher-class destroyer, USS Cassin Young (DD-793).

The USS Constitution originally served in the Quasi-War with France (1789-1800) and fought against the Barbary Pirates in the First Barbary War (1801-1805). Despite having a service life expectation of only 10 to 15 years and being 15 years old at the start of the War of 1812 (1812-1815), the ship scored multiple naval victories against the vastly superior British Navy. The USS Constitution continued active duty Naval service until 1881, 84 years after it first launched. It is the world's oldest ship that is still afloat.