The New Jersey Arrives in Philadelphia
The battleship New Jersey (BB-62) left her pier at Bremerton, Washington, under tow on 12 September 1999, beginning a journey that took her through the Panama Canal and on to her eventual destination in Philadelphia on 11 November. The New Jersey's lengthy 61-day trek was only half the battle, however. Getting to her final home promises to be a far more difficult task; the decision on her permanent fate will be made by the U.S. Navy’s Ship Donation Program. Two cities in New Jersey—Bayonne and Camden—continue to compete for the honor of showcasing the state’s namesake ship. The brouhaha between the two communities has become a civil war of sorts, as North and South Jersey have lined up impressive amounts of political support—in and out of the state—in order to win over the affections of the Navy and the prized battleship.
Bayonne—all but triumphant in fall 1998, when the state’s New Jersey Battleship Commission gave that city the winning bid—now must compete head to head with Camden once again, as the Navy began a review of the state’s decision on 17 May. The County of Camden filed a lawsuit soon after the commission's September 1998 decision in favor of Bayonne, claiming that the commission acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and failed to get approval from either Governor Christie Todd Whitman or the legislature. Camden withdrew its lawsuit in July, however, thinking that the Navy would be “reluctant to continue the review while the lawsuit is pending,” a Camden County official said. The Navy hopes to make a final decision on the battleship sometime in early 2000.
The war of words between lawmakers in the two cities recently heated up when Monmouth Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina—hoping to bring the battleship to Bayonne—described Camden’s waterfront as the “murder capital of the world” and unfit as a destination for tourists. Camden’s mayor, Milton Milan, quickly shot back. “That’s typical North Jersey talk,” he said. “More than 1 million people come here every summer for shows on the Waterfront without an incident.”
Bayonne hopes that the availability of its Military Ocean Terminal (where the New Jersey was sometimes berthed during her active career), as well as its closeness to New York City and the millions of visitors who flock to the region each year, will win over the Navy. Supporters of homeporting the ship in Camden, however, point out that Bayonne’s earlier efforts to get the New Jersey received a cold shoulder from representatives from New York, which already has the carrier Intrepid (CV-11) as a popular tourist attraction. Reasons for homeporting the New Jersey in South Jersey include the fact that she was built across the Delaware River from Camden at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and that she would be berthed in freshwater—rather than the saltwater of New York Harbor—Camden’s partisans argue. Philadelphia’s only other historic naval vessels are the 1890s armored cruiser Olympia (C-6) and the submarine Becuna (SS-319) at the Independence Seaport Museum downtown.
ECOSAT Gives Up On the Cabot
In November, the Miami-based Education Council for Space Age Technology (ECOSAT) decided to terminate its long-time effort to acquire the former USS Cabot (CVL-28) as a museum ship. The Cabot, recently sold to P. K. Patel of Sabe Marine Salvage, likely will go under the cutter’s torch after years of work by several organizations to make her into a museum. Though ECOSAT is “willing to provide assistance to any serious contender” who would buy the Cabot in the future, Mr. Patel’s insistence on maintaining title and receiving 5% of any revenue generated by the Cabot if she were made into a museum makes such a purchase or acquisition unlikely.
Wreckage from Japanese Carriers Found
A civilian-U.S. Navy team embarked on board the USNS Sumner (T-AGS- 61) recently discovered what appears to be wreckage from at least one of the Japanese aircraft carriers sunk at the Battle of Midway in 1942. The expedition, conducted jointly by the Naval Oceanographic Office and the Nauticos Corporation of Hanover, Maryland, discovered the debris this past September. The team was confirming sonar contacts it had identified during an earlier expedition in the spring to find the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu.
The Sumner used a towed oceanographic survey system that combines a side-scan sonar, sensors for environmental data, and video imagery to scour the ocean bottom for contacts. The exact nature of what was discovered has yet to be determined; photographic data from the site show a possible piece of hull stuck in the bottom vertically, as well as other material that is believed to be from either the Kaga or Soryu.
Seminar Discusses Critical Battle of Leyte Gulf
The 55th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf was marked at the Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard, on 22 October by a symposium that reviewed the series of seminal naval actions that led to this momentous U.S. victory in the Philippine Archipelago in 1944. Distinguished historians and authors such as Jeff Barlow, Tom Cutler, and Stan Falk gave the chronology of unfolding events. Life was then breathed into these events by the stories of veterans who were present as eyewitnesses. Twelve such men were in attendance to help the audience grasp a feeling for this battle that involved more ships, more aircraft, and more people than any other in the annals of naval history.
Admiral Jim Holloway, former Chief of Naval Operations, was there and described the action at Surigao Strait from his viewpoint as a destroyer director officer. Captain Ernest Schwab was there as executive officer of the USS Darter (SS-227), and described how U.S. submarines drew first blood off Palawan. Schwab then introduced his friend, Captain “Clag” Claggett, who was there in command of the USS Dace (SS-247) and fired the torpedoes that sank Admiral Takeo Kurita’s flagship. Captain Bob Hayler was there as a lieutenant in the USS Fanning (DD-381); his father was in command of Cruiser Division 12, and his brother—embarked in another ship— also saw action during the three-day battle. This seminar proved to be a rich experience for all who attended. It was sponsored jointly by the Naval Historical Foundation and the Naval Order of the United States, and given the great success of this gathering, these sponsors promise to team together for similar seminars in the near future
Kent Siegel
Congress Appropriates Money for Moving the Iowa
In November 1999, Congress included $3 million as part of the 2000 Defense budget to move the battleship Iowa (BB-61) from her current berth in Newport, Rhode Island, to San Francisco Bay. Once the battleship—currently in the inactive reserve as a “mobilization asset”— arrives in the Bay area, however, her future status may be uncertain. The Navy would like to have the vessel remain in reserve like her sister the Wisconsin (BB-64)—which eventually will be berthed in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, sometime at the end of 2000, but remain largely closed to visitors and ready to be put back in service during an emergency.
California Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), and Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma)—who were instrumental in getting the bill through Congress—hope that the Iowa will join the aircraft carrier Hornet (CVS-12), the submarine Pampanito (SS-383), the sailing vessel Dalclutha, and other historic vessels in the San Francisco Bay area as a museum ship.
A San Francisco-based organization, the Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square, hopes to bring the ship to the city as a museum, and submitted a proposal to that effect to the Navy in fall 1998. The Navy, however, currently does not have plans to change the battleship’s status as a part of the inactive reserve. For more information about the current status of the Iowa, visit the website of the Veteran’s Association of the Iowa at <www.ussiowa.org>.
Rhode Island Gives Approval to Saratoga Museum
In September 1999, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, chaired by Governor Lincoln Almond, granted conditional approval to plans to make the Saratoga (CV-60) into a museum ship at the old Quonset Point Naval Air Station. The aircraft carrier, now berthed in Middletown—less than 34,000 feet from her proposed final destination—currently is still in the possession of the Navy for “experimental purposes,” and is not available for donation. In October, the Rhode Island-based USS Saratoga Museum Foundation submitted a proposal to have the ship placed on the Navy’s donation list.
Another major hurdle is funding the project—the bill for which is estimated at an initial $7.5 million, which includes the renovation of parts of the naval air station, preparation of the bridge, flight deck, and hangar, and the building of a visitor’s center. Several veterans’ groups already have raised $2.5 million, and the remaining money probably will come from a bond issue. The USS Saratoga Museum Foundation has a website at <www.wbwip.com/saratoga/index.html> or can be reached at (401) 831-8707.
Last Veteran of World War II Retires
Captain Earl R. Fox, U.S. Public Health Service, retired in November 1999 after service in the Navy during World War II and decades more service with the Coast Guard. At the age of 80, Captain Fox was the oldest World War II veteran still on active duty.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Fox served in the Pacific theater from 1942-47 on several torpedo and patrol boats, and as commanding officer of the Snook (SS-385) and the Bang (SS- 279). After leaving the Navy after the war, Fox went to medical school and spent 20 years in private practice.
Three months after his retirement at age 55 in 1974, Fox decided to join the U.S. Public Health Service and took an assignment as a flight surgeon with the Coast Guard—where he has remained since. Captain Fox was honored for his service by President Bill Clinton during Veterans’ Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, a week before his retirement.