U.S. Warships: USS Russell (DDG-59)

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America November 2021 Calendar.

Each month, this calendar features a U.S. Navy warship that is currently in service.

This month's ship is the guided missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG-59).

It is an Arleigh Burke-class ship, commissioned 20 May 1995 and home ported in San Diego.  It is the second ship in the U.S. Navy by the name of John Henry Russell.  John Henry Russell was a rear admiral in the Navy who fought in the Mexican War and the Civil War.  His son, John Henry Russell, Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

It was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

--Cooter

Admiral John "Slew" McCain, Sen. McCain's Grandfather-- Part 1

From the United States World War I Centennial Commission  "Remembering the WW I  Service of  John 'Slew' McCain" by Chris Isleib.

The United States recently lost one of its great men, Senator John McCain, who was a naval aviator during the Vietnam War.  But, his family has quite the Navy connection.  His grandfather was Admiral John McCain who fought in both World Wars.

The first John McCain was born in Mississippi and attended the University of Mississippi for two years before deciding to attend the USMA West Point where his brother William Alexander McCain was enrolled.  To practice for his entrance exams, he used the ones given at the USNA and passed them so decided to enter there.

His performance at the Naval Academy were lackluster at best but he graduated in 1906, ranked #79 out of 116 in his class.

--Cooter

U.S. Warships Named Mississippi-- Part 2

88  The second USS Mississippi was an undersized battleship commissioned in 1908.  It served briefly as a base for sea planes before being sold to Greece in 1914 and renamed the Kilkis.

It was sunk by a German dive bomber in 1941 while being used as a floating gun battery.  The ship's figurehead is displayed in Jackson at the grounds of the state Capitol.

**  The third USS Mississippi was a battleship commissioned in 1917 and saw action in the Pacific Ocean during World War II..  It served for ten more years after the war as an auxiliary ship.

It was decommissioned in 1956 and scrapped.  It's bell is at the Rosalie Mansion in Natchez.

**  The 4th USS Mississippi was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser commissioned in 1978.  It fired missiles at Iraq in the First Gulf War and was decommissioned in 1997.

Its main mast is displayed at the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Ocean Springs.

--Cooter

Canton, Mississippi

Spent last night here in Canton, so decided to write a little of its history.

It is the county seat of Madison County, named for the 4th president of the US. Most early settlers came from Virginia and the Carolinas.

The town was incorporated in 1834 with a population of 400. There are two stories as to how it got its name. One has it being on the exact other side of Earth from Canton, China. The other has the daughter of a Chinese family dying in the area and a sympathetic community naming itself in her honor.

A beautiful Greek Revival courthouse stands in the center of town on a square. The current one was built in 1857.

We'll Have to Tour It Before We Leave. --Cooter

Work Begins on Biloxi Lighthouse

Work has begun on the Biloxi, Mississippi, lighthouse to repair Hurricane Katrina damage, four years after the event.

A decorative fence will be removed from around the base and work will commence replacing damaged bricks and mortar.

On July 23rd, a ceremony will be held at the lighthouse to unveil the new Lighthouses of the Gulf Coast postage stamps which will feature pictures from all five Gulf states.

It was built in 1848 and is 64 feet tall and is the only lighthouse to stand in the middle of a four-lane highway. reportedly, it is the most photographed site on the entire Gulf Coast.

In 1860, a storm eroded sand from one side of it, causing it to lean over. Sand was removed from the other side to level it out. It was extinguished during the Civil War.

Lighthouses, One of My Favorite Things. --Cooter