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www.mybaycity.com October 20, 2007
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U.S. Navy to Inspect New Dock Readied for USS Edson at Independence Park

Museum Officials Make Washington Contacts as Project Reaches Fruition

October 20, 2007       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Richard J. "Dick" Janke, vice president of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum, visits the destroyer USS Barry, sister ship of the USS Edson, on display in Washington, D.C.
 
Union carpenters and ironworkers constructed this dock, 20 feet wide by 110 feet long, of treated Southern yellow pine on steel framing attached to pilings driven into the river bed.

Anchors aweigh my boys, anchors aweigh!

The words from one of World War II's most popular songs personify the spirit evident among the workers down at Independence Park in Bangor Township where preparations are being made for a flood.

The flood will be visitors from all over the nation if and when the U.S. Navy raises the "come aboard" flag for Bay City's effort to locate a museum ship here.

Officials of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum (SVNSM) visited the U.S. Navy's NAVSEA headquarters in Washington, D.C., last week and learned that the Navy will visit Bay City in November to inspect the dock prepared for the destroyer USS Edson.

Members of the ironworkers and carpenters unions have done yeoman work in reconstructing an old steel dock for use by visitors to the ship, said Richard J. "Dick" Janke, vice president of the SVNSM.

Mr. Janke and other volunteers were at the site Saturday preparing a base for a flagpole to be raised at the entrance to the dock when the vessel is located here.

Mr. Janke and SVNSM supporter James A. "Jim" Hollerbach called on the Navy as well as Sen. Carl Levin, U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee and other officials in Washington last week.

The Bay City campaign to have a ship stationed here has several important goals:


1-Recognizing the contributions of the Defoe Shipbuilding Co. in producing approximately 170 ships during World War II, including prototype patrol craft that helped subdue the Nazi submarine threat in the North Atlantic;

2-Providing a platform for educational programs through a curriculum prepared by Dr. Raymond Keech, former Bay City School District superintendent, in collaboration with Saginaw Valley State University; and

3-Attracting up to 100,000 visitors a year to complement the tourism and economic development efforts of local governments and the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Meanwhile, a Wisconsin group has decided to divert its fund-raising effort from a heavy cruiser, the USS Des Moines, in an attempt to persuade the Navy to send the Edson to Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

The group's website states: "The Project's Board of Directors changed the mission of the organization by replacing the Navy's heavy cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134) with the Navy's destroyer USS Edson (DD-946). The project's mission now reads ~ "The mission is to preserve a Navy destroyer such as the USS Edson (DD-946) for future generations to enjoy and to bring her to Southeastern Wisconsin permanently to serve as a Naval museum, to educate young Americans, to serve as a tourist attraction, and as a splendid memorial for all veterans. The ship will also be available for use as a Disaster Recovery Command Post and/or emergency shelter during natural disasters or terrorist attacks."

Donors who have contributed to the Des Moines will be asked whether they want their donations to be allocated to the heavy cruiser or to the destroyer. If the Des Moines effort fails and the ship is sunk by the Navy, funds will be donated to ship museums, the group says on its website.

The Wisconsin group has received support for its efforts from local government in Sheboygan.

Groups bidding for the Edson must have complete plans submitted to the Navy by the first of the year. A decision by the Navy on a new home for the ship is expected in the spring.

SVNSM has raised the necessary funds to have the ship towed from its berth in Philadelphia and preparation of a towing plan is underway, according to Mr. Janke.

Besides the dock that now is completed, the local group is preparing to install the proper mooring dolphins. Steel piping, donated by Consumers Energy, is to be used for modern tie-up and mooring facilities for the ship.

The Edson is one of the last remaining Forrest Sherman class destroyers.

The Forrest Sherman Class destroyers were the first of a new class of destroyers developed after World War II, and the prototype of all the fast ships in today's modern Navy.

The Forrest Sherman Class Destroyer was the last of the standard destroyers to be built by the US Navy after World War II. Designed during the late 1940s and built during the 1950s the lead ship was named for the chief of naval operations, Adm. Forrest Sherman, who died in July 1951.

The design had the most modern weapons and crew conveniences for that time, including air conditioning throughout and more living space for the crew than in earlier destroyers. The class was extensively modified during the 1960s and early 1970s and served until the early 1980s when it was decommissioned. ###

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

More from Dave Rogers

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