Originally, this term applied only to crew members that were present at the ship's first commissioning.
Today, however, plankowner is often applied to members of newly commissioned units, new military bases and recommissioning crews as well.
The origin of the term is the implication that a crew member was around when the ship was being built and commissioned, and therefore has bragging rights to the "ownership" of one of the planks in the main deck.
[2][3] Historically, a plankowner in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, or his widow, could petition the Naval Historical Center's Curator Branch for a piece of the deck when the ship was decommissioned.
This practice has been discontinued and stocks of planking that existed at the Curator branch have been donated to various veteran's organizations.