The Navy thinks 1,000 people will show up Tuesday at the former Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor. Only 1,000? Get real.

There's a special guest in town this year the battleship USS New Jersey. The Navy soon will pick either Bayonne or Camden as the ship's final berth. Tuesday, South Jersey has another chance to show just how much we truly care about this ship.

South Jersey should send a message to the Navy. When the "Big J" was towed home on Veterans Day, an estimated 25,000 people showed up. Surely we can do better than the 1,000 predicted by the Navy on Pearl Harbor Day.

The Navy is in the process of sorting through the competitive bids for the ship. No doubt it will be looking at a number of factors before deciding where the battleship will spend the rest of its days.

We don't know if passion is one of those factors. If it is, South Jersey has one more chance to show the Navy just how much we want the "Big J" to come home.

Let's pack the shipyard. Let's prove South Jerseyans have a strong sense of history. Let's turn out in force to not only remember Pearl Harbor, but to proclaim that the USS New Jersey belongs here.