Friday, March 05, 2010

Time to walk the walk ...



Do we really value our history? The CNO is putting a big push on the Battle of Midway - and that is outstanding and right.

Well - there are other things as well that we need to keep a focus on.

If history isn't enough - how about politics? We often talk about the need to "
get some shipyard work." Well Congress; matching funds?

It will be a great shame if the Japanese MIKASA, which was saved by the USA post-WWII, is still around yet the USS OLYMPIA is gone.

Wouldn't she be a great thing to have at the Washington Navy yard?


Where is our Navy's leadership? Where is the Navy History and Heritage Command?
The USS Olympia was the Navy's state-of-the-art flagship, a source of pride for a country flexing its muscles.

More than a century later, this last surviving vessel of the Spanish-American War fleet and longtime Penn's Landing attraction is looking for a new home and benefactor with deep pockets.

Its owner, the Independence Seaport Museum, can no longer afford the upkeep and it told the Navy it "will relinquish its stewardship of this national naval treasure and its valuable artifact collections," said Peter McCausland, chairman of the museum's Board of Port Wardens.

The museum seeks an owner who can pay up to $30 million to tow, restore, interpret, and endow the bedraggled-looking vessel.

Small portions of the Olympia's half-inch steel hull along the water line have corroded to the point that only an eighth of an inch of thickness is left.

The hull must be continually monitored and is often patched, even as water leaks through parts of the deck into the interior, causing further rust.

"We don't like to see the ship go, but you don't want to sink the entire museum because of the cost of maintaining" the Olympia, said the Independence Seaport's interim president, James McLane. "The museum is very financially sound, but if you put a drag on it, that puts it at risk over the next several years."

For more than 13 years, the museum has been "a good steward" of the Olympia, McCausland said. "We've spent $5.3 million on her. We love her."

But efforts to find funding from private donors and the city, state, and federal governments have failed, he said. The attraction will close in September.

"She's not in imminent danger of sinking, but not far away from sinking," McCausland said. "We could have a situation develop and then proceed downhill quite rapidly."
...
An additional $20 million would be needed for interpretation to turn it into a first-class tourist attraction and for an endowment to pay for its future needs, museum officials said.

Unfortunately, a feasibility study showed that the museum would be unable to meet those funding needs in this economic climate, officials said.

"If we don't have the resources to take care of the vessel, then someone who does will be better for her," Lebovics said.

Finding an owner "willing and able to preserve and repair" the Olympia is the museum's responsibility, said Glen Clark, deputy program manager for the Navy's Inactive Ships Program in Washington. "The Navy does not own the ship."

But the military has been "concerned about the condition" of the Olympia and it sent a letter to the museum in May asking for plans for drydocking, Clark said. "It's a national historic landmark."
Can we bring her home?

43 comments:

Wharf Rat said...

I was at the Washington Navy Yard in 2007, touring the 1950's era destroyer located there.

I looked around at how they got this ship in there, and it looks landlocked now, or 'bridge locked'.  I didn't see an area where she could be moved out.  It looked like the bridges were built after the destroyer was put there, but I could be wrong.

Makes me wonder if Olympia could be moved in there.  I'd be interested to know from you experts out there.

I just joined the USS Ranger Museum Foundation, trying to save Ranger in Oregon, either Astoria or Portland.  It's tough to get money for the carrier, and I truly believe Olympia is much more of a national treasure than Ranger.  We have no choice - and I suspect Navy brass knows this.

Use some Obama Stimulus money - he ain't spent but half of it.  I'd rather spend $30 million on this, than some 'greenway' somewhere, or saving the snail darter.

Chance said...

I'm all for museum ships, from Liberty ships to battleships to carriers, but almost all of them are from the World War II era. Almost. Olympia to me is even more precious, the only representative of a bygone era, like Constitution. People can see a representative WW II BB in more than one place, but Olympia is truly one of a kind.

AW1 Tim said...

  All this money for a Dreadnaught-era battleship. I don't mind that. However, look at all the trouibles these folks are having with a rather small ship, and then think about the lunacy up in Portland, Maine, where the locals are trying to get the Navy to donate USS Kennedy to them.

  I have written up couple of times up here about what it will take to stavilize and maintain Kennedy, and the fools who want her refuse to listen. Ah well.......

  I sincerely hope that funds may be found to restore and maintain Olymia. She's a valuable to me as is Constitution.

Tom Mowry said...

got to agree with the Portland comments, I settled on the other side of the river in south portland and I must say that I was shocked to here that they were thinking of bringin JFK up there, I remember about 10 or 12 years back there was an effort to bring an Adams class to Bath, they couldn't get the money or support together for that, as far as olympia that is something we need to save, there has to be money somewhere for that

Old Salt said...

Going to need to do a lot of writing to our Congresscritters, that and the relevant foundations. As logical as it is to many of us, it is going to be an extremely hard sell in this environment.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

I hope like hell that, as we toss around tens of billions of dollars, we can manage to find $30 million for restoration and care of a major part of US Naval history.

JimmyMac said...

Battle of Midway...

  I always thought Navy should throw the politics on one issue and name a CVN "USS MIDWAY".

Spade said...

Wharf rat,

The bridge for south Cap street is a drawbridge, but I dunno how wide it is.

GBS said...

Such a cool ship...and so different from the WWII era and later designs that we are used to.  You'd think we might have learned a lesson when USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) was allowed to go to the scrapper. 

Buckskins Rule said...

Unless I'm seriously mistaken, all USAF aircraft on display, weather in private collections or otherwise, remain the property of the USAF.  This is how they reclaimed the Memphis Belle some years back when the folks in Memphis proved unable to maintain it to the standards required.

Why can't my my Navy preserve it's heritage?

Buckskins Rule said...

<span>Unless I'm seriously mistaken, all USAF aircraft on display, weather in private collections or otherwise, remain the property of the USAF.  This is how they reclaimed the Memphis Belle some years back when the folks in Memphis proved unable to maintain it to the standards required. 
 
Why can't my Navy preserve it's heritage?</span>

surfcaster said...

Could probaby fit the JFK in Fall River, next to the Massachusetts, BB-59, and the DD850 Kennedy. Though I doubt in these times Elementary School kids would (be allowed) have can scrap drives to raise enough money to do anything like they did to preserve BB-59 back in the sixties.

It would be great to have Olympia restored to her former glory and honored for many years to come. And like Mikasa, should she brought to rest on land for eternity? Probably last much longer on terra firma.

Just A Guy said...

By "Home," do you mean Olympia, WA?

Byron said...

Once again...The JFK is a floating firetrap. That would be the first thing to be fixed. Second, all the hangar bay doors have had locks welded to them. I welded the last one on #2 myself, and the dumb sailors that were still left tried to open it the next day to get some gear off, EVEN AFTER we told them it was tagged out permanently. Liked to have torn the guts out of that door. Third, all the elevators have been sent to the roof, locks welded across the top of them, and more importanly, all the fluid drained out of the hydraulics...and it is a LOT of very toxic hydraulic. God knows what the lighting is like now, though I expect the shore risers still work. Can't speak for the voids, I managed to avoid having to do JFKs. I also expect you'll find lead paint here and there.

Last but not least you'll have to moor it somewhere you won't have to worry about it breaking loose and drifting across a river; carriers have an enormous sail area. When the Sara was up for decom, people here wanted to moor it right between two of the busiest bridges. I called and asked them if they were insane, and explained the task they had ahead of them.

The point is that if you want to preserve and make a museum out of a carrier, you better have a damn good plan and deep pockets. Oh, and no aircraft for static display? No visitors...

Peterk said...

please the phrase is "talk the walk, walk the talk"

Peterk said...

actually the Olympia is a pre-Dreadnought era ship and the last example of the Great White Fleet
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq42-1.htm

cdrsalamander said...

Home as in "The Navy Yard."

cdrsalamander said...

Peter,
If you want to be a know it all - get your own blog.

I am an artist - therefor I take my license where I want.  Turn a phrase - coin a phrase - kiss my a55.

leesea said...

Of course, bringing the Olympia to WNY would a great idea.  First off one has to get it out of the Delaware River mud!  As I understand it the organization which has custody of it, not only did NOT put necessary money into hull preservation like anodes etc but also since the river has silted up does NOT have the money for dredging.   The USN needs to get that vessel out of their not only underfunded but also inept hands!  I was on Olympia about 19 yrs ago and could see signs of deterioration then. I believe a semi-submersible barge can be used for the move.  The trick is getting "unstuck" from the bottom.  I believe the waters of the Anacostia River are brackish at WNY and might not present as much a challenge

Having worked at WNY for a long time seeing a ship older than the ex-USS Barry on the waterfront would be a great addition.

P.S. the Barry had its own bout with watertight integrity "issues" about 15 yrs ago.  Heeled over and almost lost her but the crew counter flooded.  You think Olympia's WW1 hull is thin, what about a cold war DDG's?

surfcaster said...

Whenever I hear someone talking about making a museum out of the JFK first thing I think of is the horrible material shape you say she is in. Just thinking that the people of Mass probably want her but nobody wants to cough up the space. However, if there <span>were</span> an ideal location in Mass, Battleship Cove would be the place. 1,000 feet of JFK docked next to just shyof 700' of Massachusetts, a DD, a former DDR Tarantul missileboat, and a Gato class sub. We'll have the Cub Scouts camping out on Big Mammie in a bit over a month from now. As for the winds, he prevailing strong west, no'west would keep her well to the Cove, and Southwest, no'easters run up and down the dec. Not much of a SE or easterly to worry about often. But this is way out of my league. I just know the location somewhat well.

There already is an effort underway to get the Saratoga CV-60 Museum up and running 12 or so miles away across Naragansett Bay in Newport or Quonset PT http://www.saratogamuseum.org . To have 2 carriers museums in such close proximity probably won't work though. Right now the Sara and the Forrestal are flaking away at Newport.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

They scrapped ENGLAND, too. For shame!

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

USN aircraft, too, that's why all the WWII planes on the bottom of Lake Michigan are almost untouchable for salvage and restoration.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

I thought the phrase was walk the walk, and talk the talk?

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Sal,

Remind me to mail you a beret you can wear when you grow your goatee.  How's that artist's angst coming along?

Anonymous said...

Oddly enough, as uttered by Animal Mother in "Full Metal Jacket", I've never heard it said any other way than "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"

Gil Gilliam said...

Maybe they could anchor it at the College Creek end of Dewey Field, or alongside the Leftwich Visitor's Center. Of course since we can't even afford 10 issues of Shipmate anymore, maybe that would be a stretch for the Alumni Association...

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

I'll foot the bill for the blue smock.

Gil Gilliam said...

Is this issue related to the Olympia issue...same park/owners:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/04/americas-flagship-he.html

Mahan said...

This is the sort of thing that happens when a nation no longer seems to care about its naval heritage, frankly.  I'm depressed to read about it, because Olympia deserves a good home at the WNY in a restored condition; she's the last link to a vanished age of the Steel Navy since Oregon went to the scrapyard during WWII (whoops!). 

We might as well sell Constitution for firewood in Boston Harbor while we're at it.  I understand live oak makes a lovely blaze.   

CV60 said...

I'll go ahead and draft a letter to Senator Webb.  He is probably the logical choice for pointman on this.  I'll go ahead and post it to the blog so ya'll can borrow it.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Alfred!  GREAT books.  The Chinese love 'em!

Your point is spot on.  Naval heritage is not terribly important if we can't manage to cut through the administrative crap and save an irreplaceable piece of American and US Navy history.

We shall see.  This batch of senior leaders, Navy and civilian, don't seem big on tradition and legacy.

xformed said...

I was sitting in a networking meeting last Wednesday and one lady, associated with the local Armed Forces Museum mentioned the schools no longer teach WWI/WWII....basically they are culling out our military history from the k-12 system down here in FL.  Well, we'll get the next generation we deserve, I suspect, to paraphrase the current commentary about just about any level of Government (thanks to an apathetic and uninformed, too busy to be beothered electorate, that wasn't taught it by the "Educators.").

CV60 said...

<p><span><span><span>Below is my proposed letter to Senator Webb.  Ya'll feel free to copy, borrow, steal, bend, fold and mutilate as you see fit.</span></span></span>
</p><p><span><span><span></span></span></span><span><span>Senator James Webb</span></span>
</p><p><span><span>144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510</span></span>
</p><p><span> </span>
</p><p><span>Dear Senator Webb,</span>
</p><p><span><span><span>            </span>It has come to my attention that the USS OLYMPIA (C-6), the flagship of Admiral Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay, is currently in a state of disrepair.<span>  </span>As you are undoubtedly aware, <span>Olympia</span><span> is the oldest steel warship currently afloat, and is a National Historic Landmark. Yet, despite this history, the press is reporting that the OLYMPIA is currently in a state of disrepair, and is gradually rusting away. Its current owner is unable to properly maintain it, and it will be forced to close the ship in September. <span> </span>See <span>http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/85456487.html</span>.</span></span></span>
</p><p><span><span><span><span>            </span>The loss of this national treasure is simply unconscionable. <span> </span>I request that your office look into finding funds and a suitable home to both renovate the USS OLYMPIA and allow it to continue its duty in instructing current and future generations of Americans on our country’s maritime heritage.</span></span></span>
</p><p><span><span></span></span></p>

C-dore 14 said...

CV 60, (At the risk of setting off some of the other readers here) You might want to send a copy of this to Joe Sestak seeing that he's a Philadelphia area congressman.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

Probably best to use her for a SINKEX, the better to learn how to keep carriers afloat in the next war.

Byron said...

I would expect on our hosts' porch he can say it any damn way he wants...as long as the beer is cold :)

MR T's Haircut said...

No you din nit....

Byron said...

If I'm not mistaken, that was the purpose of the America Sinkex.

Anonymous said...

C-dore 14
  That's a great idea.  I hadn't even thought of him.  I believe he is running for Senator, so there's a little bit more incentive for him to bring home some pork for Philly shipyard workers....

CV60 said...

Sorry, I went red and free before checking the last post.  The "Guest" post above was written by CV60

borhbemo said...

Given the ship's name and the region's long/strong Navy Historical Heritage, may a cc to Washington State's Representatives and Senators might be in order.  One of them just fleeted up to Chair of the HASC and has a record of strongly supporting Navy...

C-dore 14 said...

You know, I'd write Norm Dicks a letter on this if I thought there was a chance of something happening other than getting back a form letter or e-mail (on the topic that the Congressman wants to talk about not the question asked) drafted by some self-important 20/30-something staffer.

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