Democrats Apologize for Image of Russian Ships at Convention On full display in all the pageantry of the Democratic National Convention as veterans gathered onstage last week was an odd backdrop: an image of the Russian naval fleet. And for this, convention planners have now apologized. The image at the convention on its closing night was noticed by a reader of The Navy Times, who realized that the image projected on the screens in the background certainly did not look like the ships on which he - or his predecessors - had served. Naval experts consulted by The Navy Times concluded that the image was a composite of mostly Soviet-era ships from the Black Sea Fleet, which towered above the retired admiral John B. Nathman as he delivered a tribute to veterans. "Due to vendor error, incorrect images appeared briefly on screen behind 51 veterans during the convention and the D.N.C.C. apologizes for this mistake," said an official with the Democratic National Convention Committee. The official continued that the "error should not distract from the words" of those who spoke about President Obama's record on veterans issues, noting that Mitt Romney did not mention service members in his speech. Mr. Romney does, however, frequently mention Russia, calling it a "geopolitical adversary" of the United States.