Each year, coinciding around the 4th of July, we are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our American heritage and tell bold, and brave, stories through an eyewear collection. This year, we celebrate our American spirit highlighting several vessels that have played an enormous part in our American history. The USS Constitution, the USS Missouri, and the USS Nautilus. We introduce the 2024 American Heritage Nautical Collection.
“We have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean.” – President John F. Kennedy
USS Constitution
Commonly referred to as “Old Ironsides,” the USS Constitution is a three-masted, wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world’s oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat and is usually berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard.
She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. A frigate, designed in the 1700s, was built for speed and maneuverability. Generally, it was a squared rigged sailing vessel with a single gun deck.
Involved in a number of famous battles, the boat earned its nickname in a brilliant victory over the British frigate Guerriere in 1812. Since then, the USS Constitution has served as a symbol for American independence and heroism. And even now, a popular tourist attraction.
Oakley Standard Issue has adorned Heliostat with images and artwork from the famous ship.
USS Missouri
The USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship built for the United States Navy. Nicknamed “Mighty Mo,” she was completed in 1944, and is the last battleship commissioned by the United States. The ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, where she participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II. She later fought in the Korean War during two tours between 1950 and 1953 and was decommissioned in 1955 and transferred to the reserve fleet.
Retirement didn’t suit her. The Missouri was reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan. Cruise missile and anti-ship missile launchers were added along with updated electronics. She served in the Persian Gulf escorting oil tankers during threats from Iran, often while keeping her fire-control systems trained on land-based Iranian missile launchers. Additionally, she served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 including providing fire support.
She was finally decommissioned in 1992, and thereafter donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The Oakley Holbrook is the featured model for the USS Missouri, with graphics of the infamous Measure 32/22d camouflage paint scheme.
USS Nautilus
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is infamous for being the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. Sharing a name with Captain Nemo’s fictional submarine in the Jules Verne classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, she was authorized in 1951, and construction began in 1952.
Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. On 3 August 1958 she became the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole.
Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum ship at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel receives around 250,000 visitors per year.
The Oakley Drop Point is the style chosen for the Nautilus. With a unique color pattern reminiscent of a submarine, and inscription ‘571’ denoting Nautilus as the 571st submarine built for the U.S. Navy.
To explore the previous years American Heritage Collection, Click HERE: