Buying history

She waits.

The silence among Navy Leadership on this topic still takes me back a bit. Silence from Navy alumni in Congress. Silence among recently retired CNOs.

The USS Olympia is now officially on the market.

The caretaker of the floating museum--the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia--has invited potential buyers to kick the tires of the former warship during a three-day summit this week.

Groups from Baltimore, South Carolina, San Francisco and Philadelphia are vying for the iconic ship.

The Olympia was commissioned in 1895 as one of the first warships designed for electricity. The last surviving ship of the Spanish American War, the Olympia also saw combat during World War I.

"The period of this ship saw vast changes in navies. America was coming out as a world power," said Mike Kearny of Jenkins Hill International, a Delaware County-based consulting firm bidding for the Olympia. "She's the only ship from that era, very unique and important to preserve."

The ship is in desperate need of maintenance. It has not been dry-docked in 55 years and rests in the silt on the bottom of the Delaware River. The ship has risen with the river tide and then settled back down into the mud, every six hours, for 55 years. Each cycle damages the hull a tiny bit more.

I like Baltimore best - but she belongs in DC.

I still don't understand the silence - almost shame about her. Amazing.