A disgrace to every Navy vet in the past century

[nittany03]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/fron...rship_s_future_may_be_sunk.html#axzz0orL9SUSY

What a shame. What a waste. What an absolute disgrace. Every bit of our rep as the most powerful fleet in world history started with her.

 

[A4sForever]

It was from Olympia's bridge that Adm Dewey delivered his famous order in Manila Bay: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."

$20 million is chump change to Microsoft, Boeing, or Starbucks ... especially if it were spread amongst the 3 of 'em. It's an annual bonus to some senior executive. They could bring it TO OLYMPIA ... Washington, that is, if they wanted to ...

But the won't -- 'cause they don't give a damn. And unfortunately, neither does the USN ... f

U.S.S. Olympia ...

 

[scoolbubba]

I have to wonder if there's nothing sacred anymore. What's next, Old Ironsides?

 

[red_ryder]

Maybe the Smithsonian would be interested in adopting it? They have warehouses full of stuff.

 

[C420sailor]

I spent many weekends helping restore the Olympia when I was in school. The work sucked, but it is a very cool ship inside. There are many areas that are off limits to the general public and they are so cool! Old coal storage tanks, the engine room, passages down in the bottom of the ship. They actually had plans to restore the engine to the point that they could apply compressed air to slowly turn the screw. Pretty neat!

 

[Yardstick]

too bad about this. like c420 I spent many weekends working on this great ship, but we havnt done so for a few semesters now. even though the work sucked it was a great way to learn some neat things about our history! i never thought i'd say this but i miss working on the Olympia!

 

[PropAddict]

I'll be the minority report here. Yes, it's sad that we can't have a big, floating bit of history around as a testament to brave souls who fought in defense of our country. I would that we could have a carrier/museum in every major city in the country.

But the reality is that these things cost big money, and most of our nation doesn't care one fig for old Navy ships. Most people have no idea what the importance of Olympia is/was. The fact that a Naval museum in a big city can't even raise the coin to keep her afloat seems to indicate that it's a losing battle to try to keep her as is, with private donor funds. Warship museum tax, anyone? As much as I love walking around old boats, I just can't condone that as a good use of government resources.

Contrast that situation with boats like Spiegel Grove and Oriskany that are viewed by thousands annually, thanks to being relocated. Ships that once served on the line to protect are now serving again through helping to re-populate reefs, re-juvenate fishing industries, and pull in tourist dollars.





Reefing isn't a death knell: it's a new phase of life, one I find certainly preferable to Ivan's solution of letting them rot away pierside, neglected:

 

[cfam]

I volunteered on her for all of high school and they definitely aren't lying about how bad her material condition is. The berth they have her in now needed to be dredged six years ago, which tells you how bad it must be now. In fact, she runs aground every day at low tide, scraping what little is left of the outer hull. I have pictures at home of all the fish/harbor crap we found in her bilges because of how worn out the hull is. If it wasn't for the fact she's essentially resting on the bottom as is, she would probably be flooded below-decks. I don't fault the maintenance crew/the volunteers that work on her, they're doing a heck of a job with what they have to work with.

However, the museum's done a horrible job of publicizing her though. Many people don't actually even realize she's in Philly until they go down to the waterfront for some other event. I worked across the river on the USS New Jersey as well (separate organization owns her), and we'd have visitors ask us what ship the Olympia was. Many were surprised she still existed. No knock on the New Jersey, but she pales in historical significance when compared to the Olympia.

 

[PR1 H]

I will concur with PropAddict. Granted to visit them is a little more than walking down the pier and boarding, but getting a dive cert isn't that hard. Diving on these warships does provide an awesome perspective to them. I've dove the Mighty O last year and just dove on the Speigel Grove a couple weeks ago. Just because they are underwater, they aren't forgotten, and definitely not forgotten by service members. On both the ships I dove on, each had the Ensign flying off a mast or yard arm. Granted they could probably put her on the bottom in a better place to dive than Jersey... but then again, I've never dove there so don't know the conditions.

 

[Random Task]

I spent many weekends helping restore the Olympia when I was in school. The work sucked, but it is a very cool ship inside. There are many areas that are off limits to the general public and they are so cool! Old coal storage tanks, the engine room, passages down in the bottom of the ship. They actually had plans to restore the engine to the point that they could apply compressed air to slowly turn the screw. Pretty neat!

I think the only good memory I have of the Olympia is collectively hating working on it with everyone else. Poor old steve!!! He'll be devistated.

 

[Flash]

One solution to the corrosion problem would be to permanently 'berth' her on dry land, that is what they have done to the HMS Victory and the Mikasa, the Olympia's contemporary and ironically 'saved' by FADM Nimitz.

 

[A4sForever]

You wreck dive proponents are missin' the point of the discussion -- this is THE U.S.S. OLYMPIA -- a historic ship and the last of her kind, for Pete's sake, she was Dewey's flagship @ Manila Bay. It's not some cookie-cutter, mass produced ship with roots dating from WW2 ...

I have a personal attachment to the 'other' O-BOAT on this thread (Oriskany) amongst some others, but I'm realistic enough to recognize that not every boat I've served on is going to be nor should be preserved as a 'museum'.

But the OLYMPIA ??? That is a whole 'nuther question. It ranks right up there in US Naval history w/ ships like the U.S.S. CONSTITUTION, the U.S.S. MISSOURI, and the ENTERPRISE (CV-6 ... the most decorated USN ship of WW2: she should have been saved!!!).

While this country can find ways to fund a study of the sex habits of snail darters and ladybugs -- it can't find the relative chump-change necessary to preserve the last of a special breed ... ??? A bonafide piece of history, never to be repeated if she goes 'away' ... ??? We waste so much money on things that don't matter ...

Disgraceful ... I weep ...

 

[Uncle Fester]

Well, the way I see it, reefing isn't better than preservation.

But if we're not going invest the time and money to keep a historic ship in proper trim, like Constitution and the WWII carrier/BB museum ships, then might as well send her out Viking funeral style.

Far better fate than rotting away pierside.

 

[PropAddict]

One solution to the corrosion problem would be to permanently 'berth' her on dry land

That seems to be the only tenable solution to keep it as a museum above water, from the sound of things. Rust never sleeps, but it sure does move slower when the steel isn't submerged in brine.

Seems like "chump change" to crane it out, truck it somewhere and put it on blocks. A bit more coin to do a full resto on her, with a good coat of Rustoleum and she should be a low maint money maker, with the right publicity.

 

[Yardstick]

I think the only good memory I have of the Olympia is collectively hating working on it with everyone else. Poor old steve!!! He'll be devistated.

poor steve indeed!!