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CGN-9 SEAL There were two official Ship's Seals for USS Long Beach (CGN-9) during Her thirty three years of service. The original shown on the left was the seal that appeared in the commissioning book. The newer seal on the right appeared in the decommissioning book.
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 "Old Seal" |
 "New Seal" |
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The following text was taken from the "USS
LONG BEACH (CGN-9) Commissioning Book"
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| The heraldic composition has four complimenting quadrants. Seapower, as an essential element of national power, is symbolized by an anchor grasped in the eagle's talons; the shell is a replica of the shell in the official seal of the city of Long Beach, California, and was incorporated as a tribute to the city for which the ship has been named; moreover, the shell (escallop) possesses symbolic meaning in history for "questing" or "voyaging." The sun as the source of all power was designed to represent nuclear energy; and the three crossed tridents manifest the striking power of the three weapon systems of LONG BEACH--TALOS, TERRIER, and ASROC. The motto "Strike Hard, Strike Home" seeks to capture verbally the mission of the new combatant. The colors of Blue and Gold, in addition to the associations the connote for Naval personnel have a cogent meaning to students of heraldry. For "Gold......betokens wisdom, justice, riches, and elevation of mind; when joined with azure, (they represent) a disposition to keep what one gets." (source, Lower, Mark Anthony, The Curiosities of Heraldry, John Russell Smith Co., London England, 1945, pp. 111). | |
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The ships insignia was designed by Miss Heidi Blance
of Washington, D.C.
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Copyright © 2003 USS
Long Beach Association