USS Edson, one of two remaining Forrest Sherman class destroyers, in action during the Viet Nam War.
USS Edson Gets $240,000 Grant from MEDC, Ship May Come in Spring
Long-Awaited Destroyer Museum Needs Only Final EPA Clearance, Towing
November 29, 2009
By: Dave Rogers
"We finally got it," exclaimed Mike Kegley, president, Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum.
"It" is a $240,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Administration (MEDC) for infrastructure work at the display site for the USS Edson, destroyer museum ship.
Mr. Kegley credited Janet Rentsch of the Saginaw Valley State University development and grant-writing department for obtaining the grant. "She's been a lifesaver for us and has helped us with more than just this grant," he said.
The grant will pay for electrical, water-sewer, parking lot and lights, installation of mooring equipment and other costs.
Some of the work may begin yet this winter, weather permitting, said Mr. Kegley. All the infrastructure will be ready for spring, when the ship is expected to be released by the U.S. Navy for towing here, he said.
Key to federal approval of the project is expected to come soon from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) that has reached agreement with the battleship USS Wisconsin for public access below decks. The public was prohibited from below decks access because of the possible presence of PCBs, a chemical carcinogen.
The Wisconsin has been on display in Norfolk, Virginia, but visitors were restricted to above deck areas. The ship attracts about 250,000 visitors a year. Once the Wisconsin deal is signed by the EPA, the environmental specifications of that document will serve as a template for the Edson, according to Mr. Kegley.
"We don't expect this will take very long," he said. "We're thinking May or June but it all depends on how much time the EPA takes putting the paperwork together for the Wisconsin."
He added: "We sincerely believe it will be in the spring. We think we're in the final throes and we keep checking with the Navy."
Towing the ship from the Philadelphia Navy Yard will take 6-8 weeks. The 418 foot vessel will be towed to Quebec and from there Great Lakes tugs will take over for the passage through the St. Lawrence Seaway and into the lakes.
No local mariners will be aboard the vessel, but employees of the tug firm may be, he said. The ship will be rigged so the anchor can be set if anything untoward happens.
The Edson, built in 1958 at the Bath Iron Works, Maine, is one of three remaining Forrest Sherman class destroyers. It is fully museum ready, having been sited at the Intrepid Air-Sea Museum in New York City. It was moved to Philadelphia to make room for the supersonic airplane Concorde.
The ship, listed by the U.S. Navy as a National Historic Landmark, was located in New York 1989-2004.
Local committee members have been raising funds for a ship display here since 1997 and have about $500,000 on hand, mainly for towing charges.
The Edson ship display will be a tribute to the contribution of the Defoe Shipbuilding Company that built about 150 vessels for the Navy during World War II. About 80,000 to 100,000 visitors a year are expected to visit the ship.
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