The Battleship USS New Jersey has survived a lot. Commissioned in 1943, she fought in World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and supported U.S. operations during the Lebanese Civil War in 1983. Despite her success in combat, recent years have been difficult. Since 2004 she has been a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey on the Delaware River. Camden suffers from high crime and political corruption and the Battleship New Jersey Museum has had difficulty attracting visors in numbers sufficient to support operations. Now New Jersey’s Governor Christie has used his line item veto power to cut $1.7 million, roughly 40% of the museum’s operating budget. The museum staff, which in 2006 numbered 52, is now down to 5. The USS New Jersey, never defeated in combat, may yet be sunk by a governor’s pen.
Battleship New Jersey, historical museums face cuts in N.J. Gov. Christie’s budget
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