Destroyer Edson Near Success: Backers Sign 99 Year Lease With Bangor Twp.
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Saginaw River site near Independence Bridge where USS Edson will be moored is at center of photo on north bank of river.
Ironworker's union members check a load of pipe contributed by Consumers Energy for the Edson's pier at the site next to Independence Park off Marquette Street.
It looks like the old sailors are going to have something to cheer about next year when the destroyer USS Edson (DD-946) arrives.
The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum (SVNSM) has signed a 99-year lease with Bangor Township on riverfront property near Independence Bridge.
Earlier this year, Bangor Township Supervisor Terry Watson wrote to County Executive Thomas L. Hickner: "The Bangor Township Board of Trustees has endorsed the concept of acquiring the Independence Park and Boat Launch, along with the idea of having the USS Edson Naval Ship Museum docked at the park."
Mr. Hickner said the Independence Park and Boat Launch was the first brownfield site in Michigan to be developed, and noted the process took 13 years. It was opened in 2002 by Bay County with grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Now, after nearly a decade of work, SVNSM officials say final details are being completed for application to the U.S. Navy for assignment of the "retired" vessel to Bay City.
Fundraising continues for long term endowment of the ship project as SVNSM prepares to write about $500,000 in checks for towing the ship from Philadelphia and associated costs of the mooring preparation.
"Having a secure site was one of the last items we needed and now that's all set," said Richard Janke, vice president of SVNSM.
The museum has offices in the Dobson Healthcare building on Wilder Road where administrative activities are being performed by a two person staff in anticipation of the ship's arrival.
Members of the Ironworker's Union, Bay Aggregates and Lee Wood Contracting have agreed to assist the museum in preparation of the site for public use, said Mr. Janke.
"You're going to see a lot of activity out there pretty soon," he added. Besides the pier, restrooms will be provided and a parking lot graded and prepared for tourists, he said.
If all goes well two sets of large ocean tugs will haul the 418 foot long ship from the Philadelphia Navy Yard next summer and up the Saginaw River a few miles to its new home.
The Edson is a Forrest Sherman class destroyer, for which the keel was laid in Bath, Maine, Dec. 3, 1956. Edson is one of the few ships of the Navy named for a Marine, Maj. Gen. Merritt Austin Edson, who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in defending the airfield on Guadalcanal. The Edson served two decades in the Pacific fleet, earning a reputation as a "Top Gun" ship.
The destroyer's presence on the river will awaken memories of more than 40 years ago when warships of that size steamed down the river from the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., the U.S. bound for east coast ports and Royal Australian destroyers headed halfway around the world to "down under." Defoe delivered 160 ships to the U.S. Navy in World War II and built more that 300 varying vessels in a 72 year history.
All but a handful of survivors like the oceanographic research vessel Knorr and the former Presidential Yacht Honey Fitz are now at the bottom of the sea or cut into scrap and recycled. The three Aussie vessels are serving as "dive wrecks" in the ocean off that country's shores. HMAS Perth, Hobart and Brisbane now attract fish and divers who probe their innards.
The official Perth website states: "On 24th November 2001 at 8 a.m. the former HMAS Perth II was finally laid to rest, to create the first Artificial Dive Reef in the King George Sound of Albany. (Albany is at the southeastern tip of Australia on the Indian Ocean.) The former Perth is the newest edition to the establishment of a dive trail around the coast of Australia. The Albany community welcomed this wonderful new tourist attraction to Albany with open arms and encourage all to come and swim, snorkel and dive the wreck. Already the ship is becoming a new home for many species of fish and marine life."
If all goes well, that kind of fate will never await the USS Edson for it will remain afloat in Bay City, Michigan, as a continuing tourist attraction. Promoters expect upwards of 100,000 visitors a year to clamber across the decks and prowl below decks on the former New York City museum ship.
The USS Edson
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