VFW Calls for Vindication of Kimmel and Short
On 2 September the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) ratified a resolution appealing to the President of the United States to restore the honor and reputations of the two officers blamed for the success of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Admiral Husband Kimmel and General Walter Short.
The resolution was passed on the same day that the USS Missouri (BB-63) was berthed permanently in Pearl Harbor as a memorial to the Americans who died there and to commemorate the end of the war with Japan. U.S. Senators William V. Roth, Jr. and Joseph R. Biden, Jr. have joined the VFW in sentiment by sponsoring a resolution calling for the President to give Kimmel and Short posthumous promotions to their highest wartime ranks of four-star admiral and three-star general, respectively. “Military, governmental and congressional investigations have provided clear evidence that these two commanders were singled out for blame that should have been widely shared,” Roth and Biden wrote in a letter asking for their colleagues’ support.
Both resolutions are based on evidence that vital intelligence information was withheld from the Hawaiian commanders by their superiors in Washington, and the largely unpublicized official reversal of the initial dereliction of duty charges.
Library of Congress Receives Naval Documents
In a ceremony on 26 August, Naval Historical Foundation Chairman Admiral James L. Holloway III formally deeded to the Library of Congress 289 separate collections containing more than 338,000 items. These represent the nation’s most comprehensive private collection of documents relating to the history of the U.S. Navy. The collection contains papers from key naval officers such as Stephen Decatur, William Bain- bridge, and David Glasgow Farragut, as well as lesser-known figures such as William Speiden, who accompanied Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan in 1852.
The Naval Historical Foundation—a non-profit organization—locates, acquires, and preserves papers dealing with the history of the Sea Services and the Merchant Marine. The Library of Congress has served as a repository for the Foundation’s collection since the 1940s.
—David F. Winkler
Fellowship Awarded to Naval Institute Author
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum has named Thomas Wildenberg to the museum’s DeWitt C. Ramsey Chair for Naval Aviation. Wildenberg is the author of the Naval Institute Press’s newest book on the development of U.S. Navy carrier aviation, Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Air Power.
The Ramsey Chair was established in 1966 with the purpose of increasing and diffusing knowledge relating to U.S. naval flight history and its expansion. During the year-long fellowship, Wildenberg will act as the Air and Space Museum’s resident scholar in naval aviation while working on a biography of James Mason Reeves, considered to be the “Father of Carrier Warfare” (See the September issue of the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings for Wildenburg’s article on Admiral Reeves). Wildenberg succeeds Norman Polmar, naval affairs commentator and frequent contributor to Naval History and Proceedings.
Family Donates War Relic to Naval Academy Museum
Naval History contributor Frank Grom III (see “The Youngest Sailor,” p. 48, Sep- tember/October 1998) and his wife, Irene, traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy last summer to donate a compass to the Naval Academy Museum. The battle-scarred compass is from a lifeboat of the Spanish battleship Viscaya, which surrendered following the Battle of Santiago Bay, Cuba, on 3 July 1898.
Mr. Grom’s father, Frank Grom, Jr., retrieved the compass as he helped survivors from the Viscaya to board the USS Iowa. James Cheevers, the Museum’s curator, accepted the compass for the Museum’s Spanish-American War section. Mr. Grom donated the compass on behalf of Frank Grom, Jr.’s family members—Claudette Brown, Jacqueline Gromadski, and Christopher Gromadski.
Exhibits Honor Service of African-Americans
Five new exhibits were dedicated at the Pentagon on 17 August honoring African Americans in the armed services. Entitled “African-Americans in Defense of our Nation,” the exhibits consist of displays from each of the Armed Forces and celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 9981, which established the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services.
Remember the Leathernecks!
The History and Museums Division of the Marine Corps Historical Center in Washington has published a new book to aid research on the role of the Marine Corps in the War with Spain. Entitled Marines in the Spanish American War, 1895-1898: Anthology and Annotated Bib- liography (Shulimson, Renfrow, Kelly, and Englander, eds.), the Publication includes articles by several noted historians and contemporary authors.
—Ann A. Ferrante
“Big Mamie” to Host Historic Ships Meeting
The Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA) will hold its annual conference in Newport, Rhode Island, from 25 to 29 October, with the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) Memorial at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, as the host fleet member.
The meeting theme is “Attracting Today’s and Tomorrow’s Visitors.” With declining numbers of wartime veterans, experts in the field of educational methods and programs will help focus members on developing ways of attracting young visitors and telling them the Navy’s story.
Following an opening excursion to visit historic ships Constitution and Cassin Young (DD-793) in Boston and the Salem (CA-139) in Quincy, the director’s institute will concentrate on essential practical matters of operating ships as museums. Topics will include safety and health standards, accessibility for disabled visitors, insurance coverage, developing corporate sponsors and contributors, and ship preservation. Conference attendees will also have time to visit vessels in Fall River, such as the Massachusetts, the destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850), submarine Lion- fish (SS-298), motor torpedo boats PT 617 and PT 796, and the Soviet-built guided-missile corvette Hiddensee.
Immediately following the HNSA gathering, the Massachusetts will undergo final preparations for a much-needed trip to Boston for dry-docking. Although attempts have been made over the years to provide a major overhaul for “Big Mamie,” raising sufficient funding has been difficult. The Massachusetts legislature once again has voted approval for supporting the big-ticket price of $10 million to preserve the state’s official World War II memorial. The battleship—launched in 1941—arrived at Battleship Cove for use as a museum in 1965 and has not had a major overhaul in 46 years. Stafford Morss, who previously worked on the drydockings of the Joseph P. Kennedy and the battleship Texas (BB-35), will serve as project manager on the Massachusetts. “Big Mamie” is scheduled to be moved on 4 November.
Other Vessels Around the Country-— The oldest ship in the historic fleet, the frigate USS Constitution, continued celebrating its 200th year of service to the nation this summer. She was honored in a magnificent parade by visiting tall ships from around the world, gun salutes, a special musical tribute from the Boston Pops, and spectacular fireworks displays.
In Baltimore, the last all-sail-powered ship built for the U.S. Navy, the sloop- of-war Constellation, came out of Fort McHenry drydock on 21 August after 19 months of extensive repairs to her hull. Now that she is watertight and structurally sound, work will continue on the Constellation’s decks and structures above the waterline before the ship is towed back to her pier in Baltimore’s inner harbor in the summer of 1999 (Naval History will publish a full report on the restoration in a future issue).
The LSM-LSMR Association has recently succeeded in obtaining the LSM- 45 from Greece. During World War II landing craft were vital to the war effort, and this particular LSM is known to have participated in South Pacific campaigns. It has served with the Hellenic Navy since 1958. After minor repairs, it will be towed through the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic to its final berth at Freedom Park in Omaha, Nebraska, where it will join the minesweeper Hazard and the submarine Marlin.
At the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut, the sail of the Navy’s first ballistic-missile submarine, the USS George Washington (SSBN- 598), has been placed on exhibition on the museum grounds. Originally launched in 1959, her most noteworthy moment came on 20 Julyl960, when she successfully launched the first Polaris missile from a submerged position, sending the message “Polaris—from out of the deep to target. Perfect,” to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the George Washington became the first ballistic- missile submarine to match her hull number with her number of dives, completing 598. She was decommissioned in 1985.
The USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) may yet become a museum ship, although several previous efforts have not been successful. The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum in Bay City, Michigan, has submitted a formal application to the Navy for the acquisition of the destroyer. The museum admits that it has a long way to go with its fundraising to make it happen. Anyone interested in helping the museum should contact Michael Kegley by telephone at (517) 686-3125 or email [email protected].
Among other vessels currently being considered as museum ships are the USS Des Moines (CA-134), in which several organizations have an interest; the USS New Jersey (BB-62), for which legislation is pending to make her available for donation to a location in her namesake state; the USS Forrestal (CV-59), in which groups in Baltimore, Tampa, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, are interested; the USS Connolly (DD-979), recently added to “donation hold” status through the efforts of the ship’s sponsor and former commanding officers; the USS Iowa (BB-61), with a group in San Francisco in pursuit; the USS Midway (CV-41), destined for San Diego; and the USS New Orleans (LPH-11), being considered by the Long Beach Maritime Foundation.
—James W. Cheevers Historic Naval Ships Association
Freedom 7 Lands at the U.S. Naval Academy
Freedom 7, the first U.S. space capsule, arrived in late September for display at the Armel-Leftwich Vistor Center at the U.S. Naval Academy. At ceremonies opening the exhibit, retired Captain Jim Lovell, the commander of the doomed Apollo 13 mission, delivered a keynote address paying tribute to the late Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard, the 1945 Naval Academy graduate who flew the Freedom 7 116.5 miles in space on 5 May 1961. Other astronauts on hand—all Naval Academy graduates—were Navy Commander Pierre Thuot, Navy Commander Wendy Lawrence, and Naval Reserve Captain Bill Readdy, the current head of NASA’s Space Shuttle Office in Washington, D.C.
Most recently part of the “America’s Smithsonian” program, Freedom 7 kicks off the expansion of the “Grads in Space” exhibit at the Naval Academy visitor center. The space capsule is expected to be on display at the Naval Academy for the next five years.
Hornet Opens to the Public
With flags flying proudly from her mast, the USS Hornet (CV-12) embarked on her new mission as a museum. The World War II-era carrier, which also saw action in Korea and Vietnam and served as the recovery ship for Apollo 11, opened her gangway to the public on 27 August. More than 1,000 people, including many former Hornet crew members, boarded the historic ship docked at Pier 3 at the old Alameda Naval Air Station in San Francisco Bay.
On display were the bridge, wardroom and a TBM Avenger on the hangar deck. Also displayed were various photo exhibits showing the ship in action through her lifetime, moon rocks, and the site of the trailer housing the Apollo 11 astronauts.
The first aircraft carrier museum on the West Coast, the Hornet was scheduled to be scrapped. But in 1995 a group of naval-minded people banded together to form the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation (ACHF) and began a three-year struggle to raise the funds to preserve the ship. Their efforts were rewarded when Secretary of the Navy John Dalton turned the ship over to the foundation in May of this year. Public interest in the Hornet was so great, the ACHF opened the ship earlier than planned.
“We had so many people coming to the dock to look at the ship,” said ACHF Executive Vice President Bob Rogers, “that we decided to open her early. This has been sort of a shake- down time for us. We’ve been able to work things out, like tour routes and where we needed to have docents.” The foundation plans to place more aircraft on display, including a helicopter and British-built Sea Fury, as well as open more parts of the ship to the public in coming months.
—Rich Pedroncelli