“What Really Sank the Maine?”—Live
Regular readers of Naval History know that its March/April issue featured a synopsis of a report conducted by Advanced Marine Enterprises, Inc., for National Geographic magazine, reopening the investigation concerning what sank the battleship Maine 100 years ago.
On 22 April, representatives of National Geographic, Advanced Marine Enterprises, Inc., and the 1976 study under Admiral Hyman Rickover will debate whether or not a mine could have sunk the ship. The program runs from 1030 to 1200 in the U.S. Naval Academy’s Alumni Hall and is moderated by author Thomas Allen. Call (410) 295-1047 for registration details.
Marines Honor Sergeant Major Huff
In a moving ceremony held at Henderson Hall Theater, Headquarters Marine Corps, one of the first African Americans to enlist in the Marine Corps was remembered during the annual Black History Month celebration. Sergeant Major Edgar R. Huffs widow, Beulah, along with son Edgar II and grandson Edgar III attended the celebration and donated pictures and memorabilia to the Marine Corps’ History and Museums Division. Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Richard I. Neal, accepted Mrs. Huffs donations on behalf of the Commandant. Some of her husband’s prized possessions were donated and include a walking stick with 20 engraved rings commemorating various campaigns in which Huff participated. Also donated were his “smokey” drill instructor campaign hat from his years as a drill instructor at Montford Point and his World War II helmet.
Sergeant Major Huff, one of the Corps’ first two black sergeants major (Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson was the first), completed 30 years of regular service (1942-1972) before retiring. He was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He died in 1994 and was eulogized by (then) Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Carl E. Mundy during full military services.
—Ann A. Ferrante
Ballard Searches for Carriers from Pearl Harbor, Midway
Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic and the Bismarck, is not resting on his laurels. He has two new shipwreck projects lined up this year. The first expedition for the founder of the Institute for Exploration, in Mystic, Connecticut, takes place in May. “We’re going after the aircraft carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor and were sunk during the Battle of Midway as well as finding the Yorktown (CV-5),” Ballard said. “They’re in 17,000 feet of water; I’ve been to [20,000 feet] in the Cayman Trough in 1977 in a bathyscaph. We’re doing a two-hour television special for the National Geographic Society on the Battle of Midway, which was a great, great sea battle.”
After that, Ballard said, “our big push will be the Black Sea this summer. And the reason for that is the Black Sea is a unique body of water with a large concentration of hydrogen sulfide. It has no oxygen at the bottom, which means that wood borers that ate the Roman ship we found last summer and the Titanic’s deck are not in existence. This means those ships should be highly preserved.”
Ballard said there should be plenty of ships to look for. “We certainly know there’s been a lot of ancient trade there. That’s where the myth of Jason and the Argonauts in 2,000 B.C. took place, so we know that at least 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 B.C., there were mariners traversing the ocean. It’s 7,000 feet deep.
That’s a piece of cake. One hundred percent of the Mediterranean and Black seas are reachable with our technology.”
—By Bill Bleyer Newsday
Historic Ship Association Assesses Vessel Glut
Because of post-Cold War downsizing, base closings, Environmental Protection Agency regulations that delay ship scrapping, and of media coverage on the environmental and safety violations involved in the scrapping of the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) at Baltimore, the Navy is faced with enormous ship assets that are becoming more difficult to accommodate and next to impossible to scrap. The easiest remedies are to transfer these obsolete ships to foreign countries or to donate them to creditable organizations for use as floating museums. The latter alternative has the management of existing historic naval ships highly concerned about the competition for pubic and private support to maintain what is already being exhibited. The situation in the Northeast is particularly critical, because more than 30 vessels already are open to the public. Fortunately, diversity in types of vessels, high population density, and innovative educational programs help to maintain visitation levels, but at times unexpected factors such as highway construction have had a devastating effect on tourist visits and income.
Fortunately, too, all of the major additions to the historic naval fleet currently close to fruition are destined for the West Coast and Hawaii, where current exhibits are scarce. These include the USS Hornet (CV/CVS-12) at Alamenda, California; the USS Missouri (BB-63) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; the USS Midway (CV-41) at San Diego, California; and the USS New Orleans (LPH-11) at Long Beach, California.
The Hornet already had been consigned to a scrapping yard, but during delays in the actual work caused by environmental concerns, the yard went belly up, giving the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Museum sufficient time to organize, to raise funds, and to apply for the ship through the Naval Sea Systems Command donation program. An environmental compliance agreement remains the final hurdle before the Hornet can be opened to the public.
A 4 March public referendum in Duluth, Minnesota, rejected an offer by the state to support a $14 million waterfront veterans’ memorial, including the USS Des Moines (CA-134). The decisive vote appears to have ended all hope for such an exhibit.
Another interested group in Chicago, the American Academy of Industry, has been given a few more weeks by the Navy Sea Systems Command donation office to submit a creditable application for the Des Moines before the disposal status of the ship is changed.
The clock is also ticking down for the yard tug Hoga (YTB-146), a veteran of the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Navy is eager to close its role in disposing of the Hoga, which had served as a firefighting boat at Oakland, California, the same duty she performed so admirably at Pearl Harbor. The Friends of Hoga, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, would like to rescue and to preserve the vessel. Those interested in helping can write Friends of Hoga, 614 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815.
Canadian naval veterans and historic ship enthusiasts have cause to rejoice over the preservation of HMCS Fraser (DDE/DDH-233), the last surviving ship of the St. Laurent class of destroyer escort. Known as the “Cadillacs” of the NATO fleet, their unusual underwater surface and rounded hulls allowed them to hunt submarines at speeds up to 18 knots, even in difficult sea conditions. The Fraser was towed to her new home in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, on 18 December 1997, and is expected to be open for visitors in May 1998.
Meanwhile, the best-preserved U.S. destroyer escort, the USS Slater (DE-766), reacquired from Greece by the Destroyer Escort Association in 1994, and originally exhibited at New York City’s Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, has been moved up the Hudson River to Albany, New York. She will be reopened to the public in April.
For the 100th anniversary of Commodore George Dewey’s victory in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May, those viewing his flagship the USS Olympia (C-6) afloat at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia, will be impressed at how she looks. Thanks to the management of the Independence Seaport Museum, the Olympia has received a major facelift. The ship was stripped and repainted in her original colors by 18 workers who worked 11 hours a day, six days a week for two months. The $250,000 project was supported by grants and contributions from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the National Historical Society, Philadelphia area corporations, and individuals. Information on the Olympia is at web site www.libertynet.org/seaport.
At Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts, the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) finally got back her boats. When decommissioned in 1947, “Big Mamie’s” small craft were removed and were not on board when the battleship became a museum ship in 1965. After an extended search, a 26-foot motor whaleboat and a 40-foot utility boat have been secured and after some restoration work will be added to the exhibit. Also at the Cove, a television crew recently spent considerable time on board the USS Lionfish (SS-298), which is substituting for the ill-fated USS Squalus (SS-192) in a documentary production about that submarine’s accident during her May 1939 test dive and the dramatic rescue of part of her crew. Battleship Cove also will host the 1998 annual meeting of the Historic Naval Ships Association, 25-29 October, with delegate housing being in nearby historic Newport, Rhode Island.
The Submarine Force Library and Museum nearly has outgrown its home in just 12 years. Having among the premier and largest collections devoted to the undersea service, it is becoming difficult to accommodate new artifacts and archival material and to provide space for educational programs. The museum’s association has begun a capital campaign to fund an expansion and improvement to the facilities. The museum and the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) web site is www.ussnautilus.org.
—James W. Cheevers