Philadelphia

Vern can remember this position of the ship very well, the fantail stuck right out into the river. The Camden Ferry could be seen every day, taking New Jersey residents, to and from work. One week when a Hurricane went through, the Kawishiwi was almost set upon the pier. For days afterword, all kinds of trash floated by, even chicken coops. Notice the to scale Kawishiwi image imposed onto this photo, the USS America CV-66 would have been something to see, instead there were several destroyers and a Big Crane

Rocky Marcellus, FTG2, Rtd. USS Kawishiwi 1969-72 (3-6-05)

WRITES:

Thanks for the Philly Ship Yard info. I was born and raised about 10 miles south of the shipyard. I visited the shipyard as a Boy Scout in the early 60's and as a kid, I was thoroughly impressed by the "mothball fleet" as they call it around here. Couple that trip with the fact that my dad was an ex-1st class Shipfitter, I was pretty certain I would become a sailor myself.

The Ship Yard is owned by a Civilian outfit now. My son works there in a rented space. I drive past it every day on the way to work (high up on the expressway) and I still get a certain thrill that I can name the different types of ships. If I have any coworkers with me on the ride, they usually have to endure a dissertation of that fact. You can imagine how thrilled I was when the USS New Jersey came up the Delaware river and docked there for a while before being permanently moved to Camden, NJ. My dad had been stationed for a while on the USS Alabama, so we are definite battleship fans in my family. Oddly enough, he has had the opportunity to visit it in Mobile a few times and never did. I guess it is an old sailor thing that he remembers in it's fighting days and doesn’t want to see it as a museum.

My hat is off to you Vern. I appreciate all the email and the effort you put into keeping the Navy alive in our hearts and minds. You’re a good man, "Charlie Brown"!

Keep on Sailin',

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