Boat Launch Transfer from Bay County to Bangor Township Key to Ship Museum
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The USS Edson - Looking To Dock in Bangor
A proposal to transfer the Independence Park boat launch from Bay County to Bangor Township is seen as the key to location of the USS Edson, 418 foot long destroyer, in the Saginaw River.
The township board has endorsed the concept and tentatively agreed to receive the boat launch property and allow the Edson to be moored at a small dock north of the facility, according to a letter from Township Supervisor Terry Watson to County Executive Thomas L. Hickner.
"We will beglad to work with you and the museum committee to attempt to see if this dream can be a reality," wrote Mr. Watson.
Meanwhile, the Bay City Commission is discussing whether the ship could fit in with riverfront development plans in the downtown area. City officials earlier had urged the ship museum to contact the county about the Independence Park site.
The U.S. Navy has assured the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum Committee (SVNSM) that Bay City will receive the Edson if a permanent mooring site can be obtained, according to Richard J. Janke, committee treasurer.
Ship museum officials said their contract provides that the Navy will reclaim the vessel if the project fails at any time in the future, a main concern of public officials. A $500,000 "rainy day" fund will be built from visitor revenues to provide for this contingency.
Backers estimate that the ship museum would draw upwards of 100,000 visitors per year, based on similar displays around the country.
Saginaw Valley State University and the Bay City Public Schools, with the assistance of Ray Keech, retired school superintendent, have prepared a curriculum for student visits and overnight stays aboard the ship.
The USS Edson is similar to destroyers built in Bay City by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company. The Edson was distinguished during the Viet Nam War by firing more rounds of 5-inch shells than any other ship in the history of the U.S. Navy.
The ship was retired in 1989, converted to a museum ship and berthed at the Intrepid Air, Sea and Land Museum in New York City.
Edson further enhanced its historical importance by housing firefighters and volunteers following the World Trade Center terrorist disaster of September 11, 2001. The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum display will be an historical tribute to the personnel of the U.S. Navy and the Defoe Shipbuilding Company, said Mr. Janke.
The ship group has exceeded the first phase fundraising goal of $575,000 and now has raised a total of $630,601, Mr. Janke said.
Funds from the first phase will be used to tow the ship here from Philadelphia and the second phase is for installation of infrastructure such as dock and road improvements, parking lot, restrooms and other facilities.
If Congressional approval, that normally takes six months, can be speeded up the ship could be tied up here by next fall, said Mike Kegley, SVNSM president.
Location of the destroyer here would be the fulfillment of a seven year dream of the committee. Two years ago the group switched its goal from the USS Charles F. Adams to the Edson. The Edson became available when it was moved out of the Intrepid Air-Sea-Space Museum in New York City to make room for a display of the Concorde supersonic jetliner.
The Edson has had hundreds of thousands of dollars of improvements while in New York and is considered "tourist-ready," while the Adams would require extensive repairs beyond the fundraising capacity of the local group.
Latest grants received include $17,500 from S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., for a total pledge of $25,000, The Bay City Times, $3,000, and the Bay City Noon Rotary Club, $2,000 for a "naming opportunity" involving a part of the ship.
Major grants received by the SVNSM include: Tuffy Muffler, $75,000; Frances Goll Mills Memorial Foundation, administered by Citizens Bank Wealth Management, $60,000; Kantzler Foundation, $50,000; S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., $25,000; Dow Corning Corp., $25,000; William M. Defoe, $20,000; Russell Smith Foundation, $15,000; and $10,000 each from Bill and Marian Gregory, Credit Union Plus, Straits Aggregate, Independent Bank, National City Bank, the Andersen Foundation, Saginaw; Chemical Bank-Bay City and the State of Michigan.
Following is the information that greeted visitors to the Edson at the Intrepid Museum in New York:
"Built in 1958, this recently retired destroyer and veteran of Vietnam served the United States Navy for 30 years.
"The USS Edson was named in honor of USMC General Mike Edson, whose heroic conduct during the South Pacific Campaign in World War II earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor.
"The USS Edson was the last of the 18 Forrest Sherman class destroyers to be retired. As the first post WWII destroyer design, the Sherman class reflected the combat lessons learned during that conflict.
"From 1963 to 1975 she operated off the coast of Vietnam. During the conflict, the primary role of the Edson was to provide Naval Gunfire Support to the troops who were ashore. In 1968 Edson won Navy's Top Gun award. In this year she fired close to 28,000 shells, in support of troops on the shore.
"The USS Edson is the most thoroughly restored vessel on display at the Intrepid Museum. Visitors from around the world tour the destroyer's massive engine rooms, mess and berthing areas, 5" guns and magnificent navigating bridge."###
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