Maj. H.R. Edson, Maj. Gen. Merritt Edson's Son, Wants to See Ship Have Home

No Decision by Secretary of Navy Seen On Location of Ship Until Next Year

September 28, 2008
By: Dave Rogers

Maj. H.R. Edson, the sole surviving son of the legendary Lt. Col. Merritt Edson, says he "just wants to see the ship have a home."

Maj. Edson refers to the USS Edson, a 418 foot long destroyer, that a Bay City group has sought for several years as museum vessel in the Saginaw River.

The destroyer is the first vessel of the U.S. Navy ever named for a Marine winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Twenty-two other Navy ships are named for men of his 1st Raider Battalion who were killed in action in the South Pacific during World War II.

Among his many decorations for outstanding, meritorious service during a 30-year military career, Merritt "Red Mike" Edson was awarded the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, the Silver Star, and two Legions of Merit.

He served with the Vermont National Guard on the Mexican border in 1916 and against bandits in Nicaragua 1928-29. He is best known by Marines for the defense of Lunga Ridge during the Guadalcanal Campaign in World War II. In that action his 800 Marines defended against 2,500 Japanese attackers. sustaining 256 casualties but holding their position.

After retiring from the Marines, Merritt Edson headed the Vermont State Police and the National Rifle Association. He died in 1955 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A timeline he has received from the Navy leads Maj. H.R. Edson to conclude: "I don't think any decision by the Secretary of the Navy as to where the ship will be located will be made until next year."

Maj. Edson, who retired from the Marine Corps after 20 years service, now lives in Manatee County, Florida. Currently he is working on a family genealogical project.

A group from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, lately has entered the competition to be awarded the museum-ready ship, formerly located at the Intrepid Air-Sea-Space Museum in New York City.

The Wisconsin group originally was involved in the effort to preserve the heavy cruiser USS Des Moines but shifted to the Edson on advice of a consultant. The Bay City group originally eyed the destroyer USS Charles F. Adams but changed when the Edson became available in 2003 when the New York museum moved it out to make room for the supersonic Concorde jet.

The preceptors of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum (SVNSM) have worked tirelessly over the last decade to raise funds, acquire a site, build a dock and make other preparations for the ship. A former consultant to the SVNSM, now working with the Wisconsin group, has added an surprise element of competition into the process of acquiring the ship.

While Maj. Edson early this year was quoted by news media as favoring the Bay City bid, he now is taking a neutral stance regarding the effort by the Wisconsin group.

Some local observers feel the delay by the Navy is allowing the Wisconsin group additional time to raise funds to oppose the Bay City effort.

The Wisconsin group cites support by U.S. Senators Russell Feingold and Herb Kohl, both Democrats, and Rep. Thomas Petri, a Republican from Oshkosh, Democratic Gov. James Doyle, Sheboygan Mayor Juan Perez and many Wisconsin state legislators.

Bay City has in its corner U.S. Senators Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Debbie Stabenow, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Members of Congress Dale Kildee and Bart Stupak, State Sen. James A. Barcia, State Rep. Jeff Mayes, County Executive Thomas L. Hickner and many other officials.

While the local group cites a strong point for location here in tribute to the Defoe Shipbuilding Company's work with the Navy in World Wars I and II, some observers feel Wisconsin may have substantial clout since it has several working shipyards and is currently building vessels for the Navy.

The Wisconsin group's website reports: "WINSA and Ocean Technical Services (OTS) signed a contract for OTS (Joe Lombardi) to prepare WINSA's Ship Donation Application for the USS Edson. OTS specializes in projects of this type. The firm is well respected throughout the industry and by the Navy. WINSA will have a very professional application when it is submitted to the Navy's Ship Donation Program Manager at the end of December 2007."

The application from the Wisconsin group was submitted by the January deadline, a site has been agreed upon by the City of Sheboygan and the group is engaged in raising the projected $4.65 million to meet costs of bringing the ship to Sheboygan.

The Sheboygan Press recently reported that the Wisconsin group has raised about $160,000 and noted that Bay City has raised approximately $1.5 million. In addition, SVNSM has a loan commitment from the Bay County Growth Alliance for another $300,000, secured by advance grant pledges.

Dick Caswell, retired Navy Reserve captain, who heads WINSA, recently wrote:

"After the Navy's visit, we understood that if we subsequently were the first organization to produce a satisfactory application, the USS Edson would be Sheboygan's!

"What we needed by the 31st of May was an application update demonstrating progress in answering the issues identified by the Navy in their critique of our original application. In our application update, we addressed every issue, but we know that some will remain after the Navy responds to our application update. Those are the items we will be working to solve with a priority effort. In addition to the application update, WINSA recently sent in its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Checklist. We were hoping to have the Navy's response to our application update and our NEPA Checklist Report by now, but I have been told that it will be a while before we receive the critique of both documents. In the meantime we will continue to work hard to correct those issues that we know remain.

"As we continue to pursue the USS Edson, WINSA is pleased to be a strong contender for the ship in a winner takes all competition. We will do everything possible to bring the Edson to Sheboygan! As a National Historic Landmark with so many community benefits, the USS Edson is definitely a treasure worth pursuing!"

Capt. Caswell was critical of the Bay City location for the ship, noting that "Bay City has a sewage treatment plant across the river."

The "prize" in the Bay City-Sheboygan competition is a mint condition ship that is museum ready and has been a major attraction in New York City.

The ship now sits in the Philadelphia Navy Yard awaiting a shakeout of the politics as well as a decision by the Secretary of the Navy.

If approved, the Edson location here would be the 142nd historic ship display in the nation and is expected to attract 83,000 visitors annually. Such museum ships are considered major economic development tools as well as educational centers for communities.

In our opinion, the Bay City location is a superior one because of its proximity to the former Defoe shipyard that made a major contribution to the victory in World War II by its rollover method of ship construction and its construction of the prototype and 58 destroyer escorts that helped lead to the defeat of the German submarine fleet in the North Atlantic.

We can't help but feeling that Maj. Gen. Edson would feel the same.###