Wharf Rat's Home - A Shipmate Who Never Made it to Sea.

'It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'

Preserving a piece of US Maritime History - invaluable

The USS Olympia is a cruiser that fought in the Spanish American War in 1898 and has been preserved in Philadelphia. She's a one of a kind ship, a national historic monument, and in danger. She needs approximately $10-15 million in repairs to keep her a viable museum for years to come. If you have the resources, or connections to those resources, please consider helping. (full disclosure - there is no financial benefit to me to ask the question - we need to save this ship for posterity). Please contact me at 612-599-1935 or bdskon@fedex.com if you have additional questions.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

From Military Times - Please note that the Wharf Rat knew this was Nimitz-class and figured they used some stock photo for the announcement

I’m thinkin’ that’s Lincoln

A photo illustration released by the Navy over the weekend // Navy

An eagle-eyed reader named “Mike” wrote us over the weekend to make an interesting point about the Navy’s photo illustration released the day the Navy announced that the second Gerald R. Ford-class carrier will be named in honor of John F. Kennedy. His point? That ain’t no Ford.

“There’s plenty of renderings of the Ford Class available for use, and with the differences between classes you might as well be showing a picture of the Forrestal.”

Right you are. The carrier below JFK’s head is actually the Abraham Lincoln. The image was shot March 2 as the ship made its way across the Pacific near the end of its most-recent deployment. You can see the photo in its natural habitat here.
Ford and its follow-ons will look more like this.