From the April 6th Vallejo (Ca) Times-Herald.
A Bay area organization is putting forth an effort to acquire the Spanish-American warship USS Olympia and put it on display at Mare Island in San Francisco Bay.
I have written about the dire situation facing the Olympia these days. Huge amounts of money are needed to keep the ship from sinking at its berth along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The Independence Seaport Museum does not have the funds and has said the ship might end up being scuttled at sea or scrapped which would be a crying shame.
To imagine a ship launched in 1892 surviving this long only to be thrown away. And, it was from the bridge of this ship that Commodore Dewey issued his famous order "You may fire when ready, Gridley" at the 1898 Battle of Manila.
In 1921, it was also the ship that transported the body of the World War I US "unknown soldier" back from France.
From March 30th to April 1st, a summit was held in Philadelphia to determine the vessel's future. The Naval Historical Center, NAVSEA PMS 33, Historic Navy Ships Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, World Monuments Association and others attended.
They agreed to set up a $5 million fund to repair the ship
The Mare Island Association wants to bring it to the island and hope to raise $12 million by 2012 to cover site preparation at the dry dock, acquisition and towing.
The ship has a connection to Mare Island, which was a Navy shipyard. It was built at San Francisco's Union Ironworks Company and launched in 1892. Afterwards, it fitted out at Mare Island before leaving for the Asiatic Station where it fought during the Spanish-American War.
Maybe there's hope for the old ship after all.
Don't Give Up the Ship!! --Cooter
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