HB 559 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the designation of the official 2
state flagship; amending s. 15.0465, F.S.; 3
redesignating the official state flagship as the S.S. 4
American Victory; providing an effective date. 5
6
WHEREAS, built in 1944, the S.S. American Victory is one of 7
only five operational World War II merchant vessels left in the 8
United States and served in World War II, the Korean War, and 9
the Vietnam War, and 10
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory is an interactive 11
maritime museum located in Tampa, and 12
WHEREAS, the United States' entry into World War II 13
transformed American history and directly affected more than 14
250,000 Floridians who served on active duty, and 15
WHEREAS, of these brave Floridians, more than 3,500 gave 16
their lives in defense of the United States during World War II, 17
and 18
WHEREAS, Florida is the ideal location for the S.S. 19
American Victory, as the tourism industry caters to nationwide 20
visitors who can experience first hand what it was like to serve 21
on board the ship, and 22
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory is a 455 -foot steamship 23
that was launched on May 24, 1945, during the largest ship 24
building effort in United States history, and 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
WHEREAS, the S.S. Am erican Victory set sail from the United 26
States into the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean awaiting 27
orders for the invasion of Japan, and 28
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory assisted the war effort 29
during the final days of World War II by transporting military 30
equipment, troops, ammunition, and supplies for the Allied 31
Forces, and 32
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory sailed around the world 33
delivering provisions, industrial materials, machinery, and raw 34
materials after the war under the auspices of the M arshall Plan 35
to countries devastated by the destruction of World War II, and 36
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory transported cargo, fuel, 37
and ammunition during the Korean War, and 38
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory repatriated 260 39
casualties, including th ree fallen Floridians, Army Private P.C. 40
White, Marine Second Lieutenant Robert C. Craig, and Marine 41
Private First Class Joseph T. Jacobs, to the United States 42
during the Korean War, and 43
WHEREAS the S.S. American Victory was reactivated to 44
service in 1966 to support the Vietnam War and conducted 12 45
voyages supporting the war effort by transporting military 46
equipment, troops, ammunition, and supplies, and 47
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory sailed from the James 48
River Reserve Fleet on March 13, 1985, to par ticipate in the 49
United States' Victory Ship Validation Program, a program 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
designed to gauge the time and expense necessary to reactivate 51
victory-class ships, which enabled the S.S. American Victory to 52
be brought back to full operational status and to perfo rm sea 53
trials after restoration, and 54
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory was then transferred by 55
an act of Congress from the Maritime Administration to The 56
Victory Ship, Inc., in her home port of Tampa, and 57
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory has been a landmark 58
destination for the past 25 years within Tampa and was 59
recognized as a National Historic Place in 2002, and 60
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory acts as a preeminent 61
location for military retirement or promotion ceremonies, 62
marriage ceremonies, and many other types of celebrations, and 63
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory actively supports 64
military charities and foundations such as America's Gold Star 65
Families, Warrior Ethos, Florida 4 Warriors, The Mission 66
Continues, the Navy SEAL Foundation, and th e Green Beret 67
Foundation, and 68
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory continually supports 69
community organizations and foundations such as Visit Tampa Bay, 70
Leadership Florida, Leadership Tampa Bay, Leadership Tampa, the 71
Maritime Alliance, Propeller Club – Port of Tampa, and Friends 72
of the Tampa Riverwalk, and 73
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory has acted as a primary 74
platform for thousands of training hours for a wide range of 75
organizations over her 25 years in Tampa, and 76
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory has hosted all branches 77
of the Department of Defense as well as Special Operations 78
Command and Central Command; Department of Justice agencies such 79
as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, 80
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement 81
Administration; Department of Homeland Security agencies such as 82
the United States Customs and Border Protection, the United 83
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the United 84
States Coast Guard; and city, county, and state law enforcem ent 85
agencies, and 86
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory is visited by tens of 87
thousands of guests annually and acts as an educational platform 88
for Tampa Bay's seven -county area as well as throughout the 89
state, including AMIkids, the Jefferson High School Mar itime and 90
Marine Exploration Academy, the Howard W. Blake High School 91
Maritime Program, the University of South Florida College of 92
Arts and Sciences and Muma College of Business, and various 93
other public schools and home education programs, and 94
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory serves as the homebase 95
for the American Victory Division and other regional Sea Cadet, 96
Boy and Girl Scout, and ROTC programs, and 97
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory also hosts international 98
programs such as the training ship GUNIL LA, a Swedish vessel 99
that circumnavigates the globe as an international educational 100
platform, and 101
WHEREAS, the S.S. American Victory is a maritime museum and 102
memorial that is open year -round for visitors of all ages, from 103
across the United States and abro ad, supporting Florida's 104
vibrant tourism industry, and 105
WHEREAS, due to its service to the United States and past 106
25-year history of service to this state, the official state 107
flagship is redesignated as the S.S. American Victory, NOW, 108
THEREFORE, 109
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 111
112
Section 1. Section 15.0465, Florida Statutes, is amended 113
to read: 114
15.0465 Official state flagship. —The S.S. American 115
Victory, a 455-foot historic steamship, built in 1944 schooner 116
Western Union, a 130-foot historic sailing vessel of the tall 117
ship class, built in Key West and first launched in 1939 , is 118
designated the official state flagship. 119
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 120