1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

Dear Honorable Members of Congress, State Legislators, and Local Leaders, We write to you with deep urgency and patriotic conviction to implore immediate action to preserve one of our nation’s greatest, yet most endangered, icons: the SS United States. Time is rapidly running out to save this irreplaceable piece of American history from destruction. Launched in 1952, the SS United States is the largest ocean liner ever constructed in the United States and still holds the transatlantic speed record to this day. It served as a floating symbol of American innovation, pride, and power during the Cold War and beyond. From transporting presidents and celebrities to secretly preparing for military deployment, the ship’s story is inseparable from the story of 20th-century America. Today, however, this national treasure teeters on the edge of being sunk—its legacy drowned. This is not merely the loss of a ship, but of a profound inspirational, educational and cultural resource. Once gone, it cannot be rebuilt. Its decks could serve as an extraordinary event space school, innovation hub, museum, and maritime research center. The SS United States represents not just the past, but a bold platform for the future. We respectfully urge you to work with urgency and resolve. Whether through preservation grants, legislative support, public-private partnerships, or designation as a national landmark with federal stewardship, there are multiple paths forward. But they require your leadership—now. The window to act is closing fast. We must not let apathy or red tape consign this once-mighty ship to a watery grave. Generations of Americans—past, present, and future—deserve better. Let us not be the ones who stood by. Let us join and let us be the ones who saved her. Find out more here: www.nycsavessus.org