Fleet Week is a chance for many servicemen and women to explore the city for the first time, but for some, the event serves as a homecoming. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Petty officer Mutis Capizzi is a bit of a celebrity aboard the USS Bataan. The 33-year-old Bronx native says in the last week, she's posed for dozens of photos and been thanked repeatedly for her service to the country. It's a very different experience than when she last attended Fleet Week in the city.
"I used to be the one touring the ships, and wanting to thank sailors and Marines and Coast Guard men for what they do, and now it's incredible just having people come to me and thank me," she said.
Capizzi is one of about two dozen New York city residents assigned to the boat, which was named after the Bataan death march during World War II. Some 40,000 Marines and sailors were captured and forced to march on the hottest day of the year, nearly 66 miles to Japanese death camps.
Capizzi works as a public affairs officer, but during Fleet Week has served as a tour guide on the ship, telling that tale over and over to the thousands of people who came to visit.
"Remembering our history, where we came from, and making sure that future generations know about the sacrifice that these incredible people made so that we can live the way we do today," she said.
Renee Yeates-Brisbon is an electrician on the Bataan. The Staten Islander used to work for the MTA. She enlisted four years ago in search of more meaningful work.
Fleet Week has given her a chance to catch up with old friends and talk about places she's traveled and the important work she's doing. She says Memorial Day is the perfect day to remind people that even during peacetime, the work of the military should never be forgotten.
"There's a lot that was sacrificed for us to be here right now, and don't make it all in vain," she said.
With a limited amount of time away from the boat during Fleet Week, both women say they made a point of taking advantage of the one thing they say they miss the most when they're away from New York.
"The first thing I did was go and get a pepperoni slice," Capizzi said. "Because there is nowhere else where you can get pizza like New York."