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APPOINTMENT IN NORMANDY By Captain Walter W. Jaffee1
Chapter 1
Chief Engineer Ernie Murdock's suggestion had a simple
title: "Proposed Anniversary Voyage of the SS Jeremiah
O'Brien." It was an eight-page document suggesting that
the ship take part in both the 500th anniversary of
Columbus' landing in the Americas in 1992 and the 50th
anniversary of D-Day at Normandy in 1994. He presented
it to the Board of Directors of the National Liberty
Ship Memorial (NLSM) on December 10, 1987.
"To say it was met with derision would be an
understatement," recalls Marci Hooper, now the NLSM
business manager.
Bob Burnett, Jeremiah O'Brien shipkeeper:
"Most of the Board was negative. I don't recall anybody
being particularly interested, but several of them were
definitely against it."
The proposal was tabled.
The seed was actually planted in mid-1986.
Marci Hooper and Ernie Murdock [see Note 1 below] sat talking after dinner
in the shipboard gunners' mess one evening. Lee
Iacocca's fund-raising efforts for the centennial of the
Statue of Liberty were in the news and while discussing
that much-anticipated event, the notion of taking the
Jeremiah O'Brien back to Normandy for the 50th
anniversary of D-Day came up. Almost instantly, a fever
of enthusiasm began to burn and soon Marci and Ernie
were writing out the names of potential crew members on
paper napkins.
Jack Loomis, a longtime volunteer, came by,
overheard the discussion and sat down.
"Well, if you go," he said, "and I'm dead, I'd
like you to take my ashes along with you."
"No problem," said Ernie. "Where would you
like us to scatter them."
"Oh, I don't want you to scatter them. I just
want to go along for the ride."
Dick Brannon, chief engineer, Normandy '94:
"He passed that around to those of us in the crew and
that's the first that I, personally, had any inkling
that a voyage was proposed. Ernie Murdock gave a lot of
thought to this. It was quite detailed."
At the next board meeting, the proposal was
again tabled. And at the next one, and the next, for
almost four years.
Dick Brannon: "Doug Dickie was chief at this
time. So he said, `Well, the engineers's job is still
open. You come back and be nominal first assistant,
although there is no title connected with it, you would
be doing the job of first assistant.' That was in 1990.
By the time, this Normandy idea had become more and more
viable and so I became more and more interested in the
trip while Doug Dickie became less and less enthused
about the trip, fighting against it the whole way.
Nothing sudden happened, but the crew themselves, the
dedicated black gang, were all for it. They thought,
hey, that's a neat idea, a neat idea. On deck the same
way, Bob Burnett and all the dedicated guys, they were
all for it."
In November of 1991, Marci Hooper was contacted
by Professor Andre Delbecq of the Business School at the
University of Santa Clara. He was a member of a "sister
city" association between San Jose and Rouen - home of
L'Armada de la Liberté, a gathering of tall ships which
was to take place in Rouen, France in July 1994. It
would be part of the celebrations commenorating the 50th
anniversary of the liberation of France. At his request
a meeting was called of the NLSM board members. In
attendance were Rear Admiral Thomas J. Patterson, [see Note 2 below]
founder of the organization, Capt. Carl Otterberg, staff
captain of the O'Brien, Robert Blake, Chairman of the
Board, Capt. George Jahn, master of the O'Brien, Marci
Hooper, and Donald Watson, medical officer.
Mr. Delbecq, brought books and posters depicting the
previous Armada, Les Voiles De La Liberté, which took
place in 1989. Passing the literature around, he said
Rouen wanted the Jeremiah O'Brien to attend the 1994
gathering, and the ship would have a place of honor. He
asked the critical question, "Do you want to go?" And
now, the years of patient lobbying finally bore fruit.
"Let's go around the table and see what
everyone says," said Tom Patterson, later to be
commodore of the voyage.
One by one, each person in the room was asked
the question, and, one by one, each agreed. It was a
turning point. Normandy was now more than just a dream.
In March of 1992 John Boylston, the head of
Project Liberty Ship, which operated the John W. Brown
in Baltmore, called and requested a meeting of
representatives from the three World War II museum
ships, the Brown, the O'Brien and the Lane Victory of
San Pedro. He said, "I think there's a way to get the
kind of money we need to get our ships in shape for the
next century."
At a subsequent meeting held in April aboard
the O'Brien, he proposed that the three ships travel in
convoy to Europe for the commemoration of D-Day on June
6, 1994. Suddenly, everyone was very interested.
But weeks passed with little action. The
events for the quincentennial of Columbus' landing were
dropped because of a lack of time and funds. This had
the positive effect of allowing everyone to focus on
getting the ships to Normandy. All three ships had
served during World War II and their presence at the
50th anniversary would be more than appropriate.
Marci Hooper had long planned a vacation
to England and France. With the impetus of the interest
on the part of Rouen and the Armada and the growing
enthusiasm for what was being called "The Last Convoy,"
her vacation quickly became a business trip. November
of 1992 found her visiting authorities in ports of
England and France where she presented press kits,
including ship photos, advertising brochures, histories,
letters of commendation and certificates of merit for
each of the three museum ships. The effect was
dramatic. To the British and the French, the proposed
convoy was no longer a mere notion. Here was a real
person, directly representing the Jeremiah O'Brien and
the other ships, assuring them that three American World
War II veteran ships were doing everything they could to
attend the D-Day commemoration.
In December of 1992 things really began to
happen. First, the O'Brien went into drydock. Among
other things, it was time to have the tailshaft pulled
for inspection. But as Marine Superintendent Ernie
Murdock went through the ship with Coast Guard officials
and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) representatives,
he was concentrating not only on this routine drydocking
but on the one to come - the all-important drydocking
that would take place just prior to sailing for Normandy
16 months hence.
The Department of Defense, (DOD) issued a
certificate to the O'Brien:
Retired Brigadier General R. C. Tripp, the
O'Brien's liaison with the Army, received a draft copy
of the Army's concept plan for the D-Day ceremonies.
Even a year-and-a-half before June 6, 1994, most of the
final events for the ceremonies were anticipated. The
theme was to be "A Grateful Nation Remembers - Honoring
Those Who Served." The DOD Anniversary of World War II
Commemoration Committee was given responsibility for
overall planning guidance, coordination and support for
all commemorative events. The concept plan set out
several key assumptions: the President would attend, as
well as the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman, Joint
Chiefs of Staff, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force,
Navy and the Commandant of the Marines; veterans' groups
and foreign dignitaries would take part. The planning
objectives were noteworthy in their simplicity and their
focus with key elements being: 1) To keep the WWII
veterans central in all events, including planning and
execution and, 2) to make all events meaningful,
dignified and basic. Other sections of the overall plan
dealt with logistics, timing and areas of
responsibility.
At about this time the Normandy '94 Committee
was formed. Tom Patterson: "I had been asked by the
Board of Directors if I would serve as the chairman for
the voyage. I accepted and started to put together a
committee that would be able to handle all the parts of
the planning and the conducting of the voyage itself.
This continued into the beginning of 1993 and we finally
ended up with thirty-three people on the Normandy voyage
committee. This committee was meeting on the first
Thursday of every month and then as the year progressed
we had to have special meetings for such subjects as
fund raising and meeting the regulatory bodies - U.S.
Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping. These fell
into special meetings." [See appendix B for listing of
committee members]
In that same month, Adm. Patterson asked the
author to be historian for the committee. The first
meeting I attended was on January 7, 1993. It was held
at the ship's shoreside office at the end of Pier 1 at
Fort Mason in San Francisco. It was a familiar
location. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) had
operated its radar school for several years. Many of us
had renewed our radar certificates in the same room.
The few seats at the conference table were taken well
before the meeting started at 10 a.m. Soon we were
dragging chairs in from adjoining rooms and the last to
arrive had to stand. Twenty-two people attended the
meeting.
A wide range of topics relative to the coming
trip were discussed, many of them foreshadowing problems
that would plague us throughout the voyage. Probably
the most important was the budget. Art Haskell, a
recently-retired executive from Matson Lines, handed out
copies of his financial forecast. Although we knew the trip would be
expensive, the bottomline figure of $2.6 million came as
something of a shock. This was softened to a degree by
the explanation that $1.6 million was already in hand or
would come "in kind." The budget generated more
questions than it answered but, as Mr. Haskell said,
"Its purpose is to serve as a point of departure and
raise questions." And it put the trip into financial
perspective.
Tom Patterson: "We looked at the budget that
had been prepared by Mr. Haskell which amounted to two
million six hundred seventy-five thousand dollars and we
realized the Herculean task we had committed our
receives to."
Besides funding, one of our more enduring
problems in the project would be the need for ship
ballast. The optimum figure was 3,000 tons. Tom
Patterson reported that 5,000 tons of lead was available
from the Navy in Bremerton, Washington. The difficulty
would be getting it from Bremerton to San Francisco. A
later problem would be that there was far less than
5,000 tons. But, as we quickly learned, most plans were
subject to change.
Other issues arose. Bill Duncan, representing
the crew, raised the question of crew licenses and
certificates. Many of the volunteers had expired
documents or never had documents to begin with. Would
the Coast Guard waive requirements?
Duncan expressed the concern on the part of the
crew that outsiders and newcomers might be given
precedence over the longtime volunteers. Adm. Patterson
emphatically said, "It always has been and always will
be the policy of this committee that the volunteer crew
comes first." He closed the meeting with this reminder,
"It's the work that's done before you leave that brings
you home."
In February 1993 Tony Seideman, a New Yorker,
formally approached the three museum ship organizations
during a meeting at Fort Mason. He rode the John W.
Brown on one of her earlier cruises and was enthusiastic
about representing the ships in fundraising efforts. He
proposed that his organization, America Works, raise
funds nationwide for the convoy. The representatives of
the three ships agreed to his proposal. Being
represented by a national, rather than regional,
organization, it was hoped, would make major corporate
donors more approachable. But from the viewpoint of the
Jeremiah O'Brien, there was a serious question of how
effective they could be operating through a New York
office 3,000 miles and three time zones away from the
West Coast. The NLSM opted to continue their own
fund-raising on a more local level while America Works
would concentrate on the national level. The others
concurred. The result was that the idea of the convoy
was still alive, there was hope for high-level national
funding, but each organization would also pursue its own
avenues of financial support.
Subsequent committee meetings covered an
ever-expanding range of plans, problems, crises,
logistics, and funding, funding, funding.
As the project grew it attracted the interest
of outsiders, all willing to help, some with their own
agenda. Adm. Patterson asked pointed questions and made
short work of professional fundraisers masquerading as
friends of the O'Brien.
The concerns over funding were overriding. At
this point the NLSM was almost broke. It barely had
enough funds to meet the next few months' expenses, yet
it was boldly planning to raise and spend another $2.6
million in the next eighteen months. Meetings went on
for hours, with obsessive talk about about (the lack of)
money. Tom Patterson: "The initial response was
discouraging but we had expected that and it didn't
really turn us aside."
Everyone had ideas for fundraisers - from bake
sales to cruise-ship tickets. One of Don Watson's
fund-raising efforts that did work, to an extent, was an
automobile raffle. He arranged for a Chrysler/Jeep
dealer to donate a new vehicle, at cost, to the ship.
We sold tickets and raffled it off. After paying the
$23,000 "dealer cost" we realized a profit of $6,500 - a
welcome amount but somewhat disappointing compared to
what we had hoped.
Capt. Sandy Jones of American President Lines
put fifty-two immersion suits [see Note 3 below] on board the O'Brien.
They cost the ship nothing and eliminated a $100,000
line item from the budget.
A "Crab Feed", a San Francisco tradition, was
held in the ship's no. 2 'tween deck, an area set up as
a meeting, conference and party room. Volunteers set up
tables and chairs, plates, bibs, napkins and tableware.
Others went to work melting butter, making salad,
cutting San Francisco's famed sourdough French bread,
breaking dungeness crab into manageable pieces and
brewing coffee. By the end of the evening, appetites
were well satisfied, the committee netted $3,700 for the
effort, and everyone left with a scense of
accomplishment.
As the weeks went by, more ideas were floated.
One was the possibility of producing a video featuring
the Jeremiah O'Brien to market to major corporations to
solicit corporate support. Another idea that appealed
to many was the "infomercial." All of us had seen the
late night efforts at selling beauty products, car
polish, vegetable slicers, psychic services and "How to
Get Rich in Real Estate." Paul Reyff suggested we make
our own infomercial and show it on television during
cheap, late night hours. He calculated that such a
commercial would reach 25 million people in six months,
generate 200,000 responses and gross $5 million income
with a net of $3 million. Here, in one effort, we could
have an income greater than our entire budget! A motion
to proceed was raised, seconded and passed in a flash.
It was an idea with some promise, but, like many notions
in those early days of the committee, it never happened.
Some efforts were made to get historical film to use in
the project and then it simply died. Everyone was in
favor of it but no one wanted to do anything about it.
About this time we learned that the president
would ask for a 5-10% reduction in federal spending.
This did not look good for our prospects of getting
money from the federal government. Then we received
word that "America works" was folding, another potential
source of funding gone.
New issues and problems continued to surface.
One of the more controversial discussions at these early
meetings centered around uniforms. In general, the
attitude of the crew was anti-uniform,
anti-regimentation, anti-anything military. It was a
matter of professional pride. The crew felt that
American merchant mariners had no need for uniforms.
They were the best seamen on earth and no uniform was
necessary to advertise or prove that fact. On the other
hand, traveling into foreign cultures, we needed to
respect the expectations of those cultures. Also, the
O'Brien represented a unique, historic endeavor, and it
was important that the public be able to recognize
officers and crew.
Just as emphatic, however, were people such as
Don Watson, who like to wear uniforms. At one Normandy
Committee meeting he presented a professional-looking
display of merchant marine uniforms and proposed
standards of dress for the three ships participating in
the voyage. An ex-Navy man, he envisioned different
uniforms for officers, petty offices and crew. "Would
the ship pay the cost of attiring the whole crew?" The
issue was tabled until we had a better handle on
funding. And so it went - eventually every issue,
proposal, problem came back to the question of funding.
Even the most dedicated, die-hard enthusiasts
occasionally need some encouraging news, some sense that
they are not alone in their vision as they encounter one
obstacle after another, trying to gather support from
those who applaud the project but find reasons why they
cannot help, or, worse, who promise help, then reveal
the self-aggrandizing string attached. Even more
discouraging are the prophets of doom who mock or scorn
the "grandiose scheme" and can momentarily dishearten
the staunchest optimist. But not Adm. Patterson. I
remember a popular bumper sticker saying, "What part of
the `NO' don't you understand?" Tom Patterson, in
effect, said, "I don't understand that word at all."
And on he charged.
Now, we began getting interest from overseas.
The first came from Brigadier T. Longland, OBE, of the
British Ministry of Defense. It was addressed to Adm.
Patterson and dated 26 March 1993:
COMMEMORATION OF THE D DAY LANDINGS JUNE 1994
During a recent visit to Washington LTG
Kicklighter mentioned that it was hoped to refurbish and
then sail two liberty ships and a victory ship across
the Atlantic in time to take part in the ceremonies
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D Day
Landings.
I have been appointed to lead the team
responsible for the planning and coordination of the
British Government's commemorations for D Day and my
team are now putting together an outline of the events
proposed for June 1994.
One of the ideas being worked upon at present
is the concept of the flotilla of ships sailing from
Portsmouth and Southhampton to the Normandy coast on
June 5th 1994. The outline plan would be that the
flotilla, consisting of a mixture of commercial vessels
and warships would congregate first off Portsmouth and
then, led by the Royal Yacht, sail across the Channel
before dispersing to their varies ports. While they
were sailing across we would hope to fly the Royal
Navy's and the Royal Air Force's Historic flights
overhead to add a little more atmosphere to the
occasion.
Clearly the addition of your ship to the
flotilla would be most welcome and would add a touch of
authenticity that would be much appreciated by all the
veterans taking part.
Should you be able to take part I would be
grateful if you would get in touch so that we could
discuss the project in more detail.
I have also written to Mr. Johnson [Lane
Victory] and Mr. Boylston [John W. Brown] concerning
their vessels.
The Last Convoy was becoming a reality in the
minds of the British. At home, the meetings continued
and the main problem was still money. Adm. Patterson
reported some good news. The Bentley, or Scrap Ship,
Bill would pass in the fall. The second part of
fund-raising, after the Bentley Bill, was corporate
sponsorship. Captain Otterberg, Adm. Patterson and NLSM
board member Capt. Henry Simonsen were working on the
oil industry for donations of money and oil. A maritime
auction was planned as a fund-raiser. Adm. Patterson
also suggested to General Tripp that he, General
Kicklighter and Patterson work on DOD support,
developing a list of the ship's needs, "in kind" items
that could be obtained through the Department of
Defense.
Tom Patterson: "We knew that there were
alternative ways of putting this voyage together and
that's what we were mainly experienced in doing. For
example, getting the Maritime Administration and the
U.S. Navy to transfer to us the outfitting gear that we
needed for the ship. And by going to the various
vendors and various steamship companies we were able to
get contributions of what we needed. This was the main
way the voyage was put together."
Adm. Patterson emphasized the need for action.
"It is time to get this thing moving," he said. The
meeting ended after almost three hours with his final
words, "Do It."
Now came an important communication from
France. Marci Hooper received a letter from
Yves-Asseline, vice president of L'Armada de la Liberté.
It was a pleasure to have you on the phone
yesterday.
About the Liberty ship, we could propose you to
be a "star" on the french TV on Saturday 9th or Sunday
10th July 1994.
We would like your ship arrives in the harbour
or Rouen in the middle of the Armada.
Tall ships and modern war ships could "welcome"
the "Jeremiah O'Brien". All the event broadcast "LIVE
ON TV", we have a contract with the state TV channels
covering all France. I think this sort of support could
help you in finding sponsors.
Do you think possible to sign a contract
between your association and the Armada in order to make
these things sure.
Please be so kind to let me know your opinion
on this and please give me your schedule.
In April a sale of Vintage Model Kits was held.
Ed Von Der Porten, our museum director, had recently
discovered an old barn full of model kits of ships,
airplanes, jeeps, and amphibious vehicles, all made
before and during World War II. The Jeremiah O'Brien
acquired them hoping to use them as a "draw" in the
never-ending fund-raising. What happened was beyond
their hopes. A press release brought local TV stations
to the ship to film setting up for the sale. Then a
local radio station heard about the sale, put it on the
air, and demand exploded. Entry to no. 2 hold had to be
restricted and people were limited in the number of
models they could buy. It was a stunning example of the
power of publicity.
The O'Brien's annual Maritime Day Cruise took
on added significance in 1993. In an open letter to the
public, Chairman of the Board Robert E. Blake said, "Our
salute this year has double meaning, for we
are preparing our ship for steaming to her commemoration
of the 50th year in celebration of Operation Overlord,
when the Jeremiah O'Brien participated eleven times in
delivering supplies to our armed forces across the
English Channel at the Normandy beaches."
The program contained a special letter from
Adm. Patterson. "Now we are committed to take the
O'Brien on her eighth voyage. Destination - Normandy.
Of the thousands of ships that were at the beaches in
1944, Jeremiah O'Brien is the only original Liberty Ship
that was there and is capable of returning."
Taking place on May 22 and 23, the cruise
included the transfer of simulated cargo to amphibious
vehicles, a rehearsal for an event to take place in
Cherbourg, France, the following year. On board were
seven of the ships's original crew members: Rosario
Carista, messman; Charles Hord, fireman-watertender;
Daniel Bandy, Coxswain of the Armed Guard; Carl Scharpf,
third assistant engineer; Morgan Williams, seaman in the
Armed Guard; Hank Kusel, deck cadet; and Robert Milby,
radio operator. They had been part of the crew on her
first seven voyages during the World War II.
Important members of the maritime community
began to publicly support the voyage. Capt. L. M.
Pivonka, COMSCPAC (COmander Military Sealift Command
PACific) wrote:
Friday, June 18, 1993 was the 50th anniversary
of the launching of the Jeremiah O'Brien in Portland
Maine [see Note 4 below]. A black-tie dinner-dance was held at the San
Francisco Presidio Officer's Club to commemorate the
occasion. The South Portland [Main] Shipyard Society
sent a representative. Coleman "Coke" Schneider, deck
cadet on the first three voyages, flew in from New
Jersey. He would join us as a massman for the first
part of Voyage 8 - the return to Normandy. An
undercurent of anticipation and excitement was keenly
felt by everyone attending. Where would the ship be on
her next birthday? Would she be at anchor in an English
port, basking in the glory of an historic return to the
beaches of Normandy, or would she be tied to the pier in
San Francisco? Where would everyone be a year hence?
Aboard ship in a place of honor at a great naval review,
or watching the event on TV? There were as many
opinions as there were people, but overall they fell
into two groups: those who thought the ship would make
it to Normandy and those who thought it wouldn't. But
the excitement and sense of anticipation were there.
The word "Normandy" was on everyone's lips.
Adm. Patterson took the floor. His first words
were, "The Jeremiah O'Brien is a lucky ship. She has
been lucky all her life, and now she stands on the
threshold of her greatest venture." The audience broke
into applause.
The next day the 50th Anniversary Celebration
continued aboard ship. Special events highlighted the
weekend. The Navy band of San Francisco played a
concert on deck. A special stamp cover ceremony was
held in no. 2 hold.
The euphoria was short-lived. In July the
Coast Guard issued inspection requirements for the three
vessels of The Last Convoy. To comply with regulations,
the ships would have to obtain: the Certificate of
Inspection issued by the Coast Guard, a Loadline
Certificate, issued by the ABS, an FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) Radiotelephone certificate,
an FCC Radiotelegraph certificate, a Safety Equipment
Certificate, a Safety Construction Certificate and a
SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) certificate. Getting the
certificates required inspections by various regulatory
bodies, predominatly the Coast Guard, ABS and FCC. The
ten-page Coast Guard document further detailed the types
of inspections and requirements: Lifesaving equipment,
fire protection equipment, operations, electrical
systems, machinery, drydocking, manning, rules of the
road, stability and general items. For 50-year-old
ships staffed by 70-year-old volunteers and funded by
donations, these were major hurdles.
Dismay at the magnitude of the tasks facing the
crew was eased somewhat by the realization that the
Jeremiah O'Brien was moving up in the British hierarchy
of planning for the commemoration. In July, a letter
addressed to Tom Patterson arrived from the Chief of
Naval Staff and First Sea Lord.
I understand from the British Naval Staff in
Washington that you are the head of an exciting project
to bring the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien to the United
Kingdom in 1994 to take part in the commemoration of D
Day.
Certainly the participation of a Liberty ship
would be highly appropriate. Many will vividly recall
the enormous contribution made by the Liberty ship in
World War II, and the thousands of brave men who sailed
those ships from the USA to the various distant theatres
of war.
I can well imagine the immense challenge which
such a project represents but I know that it will mean a
considerable amount to the veterans gathering the UK and
France to see a Liberty ship at the commemorations. May
I wish you and your colleagues every success in your
venture.
The crew paused to savo the encouraging tone of
the letter, then turned back to their tasks.
` For many years the volunteers on the O'Brien
worked one day a week. The deck department came in on
Wednesday and the engine department on Thursday. The
third weekend of each month was set aside as "steaming
weekend," a chance to operate the main engine for the
benefit of the public. Steaming weekend became
something of a social occasion with some crew arriving
Friday night and staying aboard until Sunday afternoon.
Often, breakfast, lunch and dinner were prepared on the
coal-fired stove in the gally. In the evenings there
were cocktails, old movies and stories, some of them
true. But now, with the Coast Guard requirements and
deadline approaching, a sense of urgency set in. To
keep her appointment in Normandy, the Jeremiah O'Brien
would have to leave San Francisco in April 1994. That
was only a few months away. The volunteers began coming
to work two and three days a week. The chores
multiplied and the social hours diminished.
Publicity was important and the NLSM was
pleased to see their ship receive increasing attention.
In October 1993 Jerry Carroll, of the San Francisco
Chronicle, described his trip aboard the O'Brien during
the annual Fleet Week cruises.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the
Normandy invasion, an event that wouldn't have been
possible without the Liberty ships. The volunteers hope
to raise enough money to sail the O'Brien to France for
the big D-Day celebration. If the O'Brien volunteers
can raise the $2.5 million needed for the voyage, the
crew sailing her across the Atlantic will average 71
years old.
They are silver-haired, when there is hair at
all, and more than a few are gimpy and hard of hearing,
but these Liberty ship veterans still have the kind of
quiet capability once the marvel of the world. Yankee
ingenuity, it was called, a can-do spirit that moved
mountains if they got in the way. Hands-on guys spare
of speech, they did their work and moved on to the next
job.
The magazine Steamboat Bill published a summary
of our plans in its Fall 1993 issue.
Tom Patterson: "Marci Hooper had made a trip
out to England and France in 1992. She met people out
there that she had stayed in contact with like Len
Sawyer (author of The Liberty Ships), and a Frenchman
who owns a DUKW [see Note 5 below] , named Jean-Paul Caron. So, in the
summer of 1993, the committee decided that we should go
over to meet all these people and make the arrangements
for the ship to get there."
They began with a rendezvous in Paris on
October 12 with the Minister of France for the -
wonderfully named - Ancien Combatants, Monsieur Coesse,
and Comtre Amiral (RADM) Pierre Argousse.
Tom Patterson: "Through Jean-Paul Caron, we
had asked for an endorsement from the Minister of
France, actually from the President, Francois
Mitterrand, that he would invite President Clinton to
send the Jeremiah O'Brien over there. Well, the way it
finally turned out, we got to the third-ranking Minister
of France, who is the equivalent of our Vice President.
Monsieur Monory issued a letter to the Vice President
Gore in which he invited the ship to come over, so we
did have an official endorsement from the French
government.
While in Paris, the O'Brien group met with Col.
Benedict in the American Embassy who presented them with
a list of key people to see and provided an introduction
to the American Embassy in London.
The next stop was Arromanches, the focus of the
British D-Day landings and site of a commemorative
museum, where they met the mayor and other dignitaries.
In the D-Day museum Adm. Patterson showed the O'Brien
film, a video taken during some of the ships bay
cruises, to an enthusiastic audience. Everyone was
eager to see the Jeremiah O'Brien arrive for the 50th
anniversary commemoration.
The American Cemetery at Colleville, near Omaha
beach, was the next call. This was the scene of one of
the bloodiest battles of the D-Day landings. Interred
there are some 10,000 American servicemen and fourteen
American merchant seamen. Superintendent Phil Rivers
was highly interested in seeing our ship participate,
and pointed out the anchorage at Pointe du Hoc where
President Clinton would make his address at the
commemoration ceremonies.
The group then went east to Rouen, where they
met officials from L'Armada de la Liberté and the port.
There they received their warmest welcome of the trip.
Rouen wanted to make the Jeremiah O'Brien the
centerpiece of the commemoration, at which they expected
5,000,000 people. The O'Brien would hold the position
of honor in the center of the line of tall ships from
all over the world that would be there for the historic
occasion.
From Rouen, our envoys went to Cherbourg, then
Adm. Patterson continued to England on his own. On
October 20th he met with the first Sea Lord, Sir
Benjamin Bathurst, his deputy Captain Harris, and
Commander David Alexander of the British Commemorative
Team. Patterson briefed them on the prospective voyage
and asked for their help. Sir Benjamin endorsed the
voyage and said he would help with every means at his
disposal. At every stop copies of The Last Liberty, the
history of the Jeremiah O'Brien, were given to local
dignitaries as a souvenir - and a reminder.
Next, Patterson called on Shell Oil Company's
operating manager, Capt. David Smith, who agreed to
assist in locating fuel in England. There followed a
meeting with officials from the Port of London
concerning berthing. D.J. Jeffrey, the chief executive,
promised his help. The trip was far exceeding the
committee's hopes and expectations and morale soared
with each report received.
We learned that the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) was very interested in covering the
arrival of the O'Brien in London. The plan was for the
O'Brien to come alongside HMS Belfast, moored in the
Thames. Veterans from the British cruiser, which also
served at D-Day, and ours would man their respective
rails. It promised to be a dramatic event as the two
ships tied up side by side, two survivors of the
Normandy invasion 50 years past.
The reports got better and better. Patterson
met Capt. Allan Swift of the Southhampton Institute of
navigation, Her Majesty's equivalent to a U.S. port
captain. He confirmed the following itinerary: On
arrival from New York, the Jeremiah O'Brien
would come into Southhampton. All the ships of the
commemoration ceremony, included fifteen U.S. Navy
ships, would assemble on the 4th of June at anchor. The
Queen, in a time-honored tradition, would review the
gathered fleet from the Royal Yacht Britannia,
traversing from Spithead into the Solent. On June 5 the
ships would sail for Normandy, arriving the following
morning. June 6 and 7 would be devoted to the 50th
Anniversary ceremonies which would be televised around
the world.
Returning to London, the admiral met with the
United States Naval Forces in Europe, Public Information
Officer, Capt. Chuck Conners and Operations Officer
Capt. Steve Tinsley. They promised to run interference
for the O'Brien, help make advance arrangements and get
us written into the operations order. This would ensure
that the Navy included the Jeremiah O'Brien in their
plans.
The results of the trip were almost immediate.
On October 18 the committee received a copy of a letter
from the Mayor of Arromanches to the United States
Ambassador to France, Mrs. Pamela Harriman:
I had the great pleasure to meet with the
Admiral Thomas J. Patterson; he came to Arromanches to
inform us of the project of the participation of the
Liberty ship "Jeremiah O'Brien" with its World War II
crew and the D-Day 50th Anniversary ceremonies.
The City of Arromanches finds the idea
remarkable.
We are extremely enthusiastic about the coming
of the "Jeremiah O'Brien," a historical monument in the
United States, and are certain of the immense success of
this operation.
To sight anew on our Normandy coast, a Liberty
ship loaded with war history and its crew of veterans
that took part, with bravery and generosity in the
liberation of our homeland. How symbolic!!!
I have accordingly, the honor of extending an
official invitation to this Liberty ship to join for our
June 1994 celebrations.
The City of Arromanches would be particularly
touched, if Madam Ambassador could be present at the
time of the ceremonies, between June 4 and 7, 1994, to
honor our Liberators.
Very truly yours,
Paris, the end of October.
Commandant,
I recently received an American Delegation, who
came to present the project of the participation of the
Jeremiah O'Brien in the commemorative ceremonies of the
50th anniversary of the Allied Landings.
I wish to make known to you how perfectly
essential the presence of this Liberty ship during these
demonstrations are, with regard to the historical
symbolism and to the quality of the conservation of this
ship.
I hope that the coming of the Jeremiah O'Brien
will be assured.
Very truly yours,
Louis de Catuelan
Dear Adm. Patterson:
My attention has been drawn to the
commemoration next year of the landings on the beaches
of Normandy and the proposed visit of the SS Jeremiah
O'Brien.
I am pleased to say that we not only welcome
the visit but will wish to do all that we can to
facilitate it.
I note that you have already had preliminary
discussions with any staff in regard to the likely
berthing requirements and of course navigation through
our waters to a central London berth. I have asked my
staff to do all that they can to accommodate the
Jeremiah O'Brien to meet your wishes as far as we can.
Turning to costs, I am aware that you have been
quoted our normal charges for commercial vessels
visiting the Pool of London. However, the 50th
Anniversary is a timely reminder of the sacrifices that
those directly involved, as well as the people of
London, made in bringing a successful conclusion to the
war. I am therefore delighted to be able to offer to
waive all of our pilotage, conservancy and berthing
charges for the proposed visit.
My staff are ready to do all they can to help
but if any fundamental problems do arise that you feel
should be drawn to my attention then please feel free to
contact me.
D.J. Jeffrey.
The letters were eloquent affirmation, on the
highest levels of these nations, of the great vision
that began at the table in the gunners' mess 7 years
before.
Meanwhile, back home, most of the funding hopes
for the voyage rested with the "Scrap Ship Bill" As the
bill worked its way through Congress, the committees's
hopes rose and fell with every rumor but by November 5 a
cautious sense of optimism began to be felt. HR-58, as
the bill was known, finally passed out of the Merchant
Marine and Fisheries Committee of the House of
Representatives and was reported to the House floor.
David Richardson, special assistant to Helen Bentley,
confidently said it would pass. The companion piece,
Senate Bill 1605, was being introduced by Senator
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the Senate Democratic
Leader. Senator John Breaux from Louisiana, who chaired
the Subcommittee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation, had pledged his support.
Almost all the volunteers were eager to be on
the trip, but some were against it. Dick Brannon:
"Doug Dickie [the ships's chief engineer] asked me some
weeks before, when the talk got very, very hot about the
ship going to Normandy, about the plan. You know, Marci
and all the shoreside people had gone to Europe and laid
all the groundwork, really actively planning for the
trip. So everybody knew that it was getting red-hot but
nobody knew firm. And Doug told me, he asked me, he
says, "If they make that trip, do you really want to go
on that trip?"
"I said, `Doug, I'm a completely open mind. If
they want me to go, I'll go.'.
"And he says, `My God', he says, `I'm so
opposed to this trip,' and `it's terrible.' All the
negatives, all the negatives. And he said, `Boy, if
this ship has to go, I will not be aboard. I'm not
going to make the trip. I don't approve of it. I think
they're nuts, absolutely nuts to do it.'
"He fought every step of the way, every way he
could to discourage us. And the guys, you know, the
crew that's still here today, they said, ` Doug, why
don't you wake up to reality.' They're pushing for this
trip.
"NO, blah, blah, blah, And somebody, I think it
was Richard Hill, jokingly, he said, ` Doug, you're
against this, you're against that. Oh, but you want to
stay on the ship, you like the job, but you're fighting
against the tide. When are you going to retire anyway?'
"And Doug says, `I'm never going to retire.
They're going to have to haul me off this ship feet
first and put me in a coffin. I'm never going to
retire.' Next breath he tells me if it goes to Europe
he will not be on the ship. The thing was on a very
iffy state of thoughts at the time."
As we drew closer to the "Go-No-Go" decision
date, crew speculation increased. Will we? Won't we?
Who? What? When? Adm. Patterson decided to put a stop
to all the rumors.
Dick Brannon: "On November thirteenth at a big
meeting in number two hold there was announced a special
crew meeting, bring your family, bring your friends and
everything. Tom Patterson got up and addressed the
crew; there must have been about two hundred people
there. Number two was jam-packed `cause the talk had
been so much, it was so, God, it was a common topic of
conversation. All '93 talk, `I was going, are we going,
if we're going,' etcetera, conversation up the
ying-yang, every coffee session, every bullshit session,
are we going or aren't we. And November thirteenth Tom
set it all to rest. He said, `I want to announce to you
now that the trip to Normandy is on, it's firm. It's no
longer If we're going to go or When we're going to go,
the trip is on. Gear your thinking to the fact the ship
will go to Normandy. Clear the air."
Notes:
Note 1: Capt. Ernie Murdock sailed on Liberty ships
during World War II. After serving as an oiler on the
Janet Ward Roper and the Margaret Brent where he saw
action in Great Britain, he attended the maritime
training school at Fort Trumbell, New London,
Connecticut. Graduating with a third assistant
engineer's license, he sailed on the William Few and
went in that capacity to Southern France. After the
war, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard where he attained
the rank of Captain and served as Captain of the Port in
both Jacksonville and San Francisco. Following
retirement from the Coast Guard, Capt. Murdock devoted
his energies to restoring a C1-M-AV1, the Lock Knot, and
the Jeremiah O'Brien. He has served as Chief Engineer
of the O'Brien, was Marine Superintendent for "Normandy
'94," and is presently on the Board of Directors of the
National Liberty Ship Memorial.
Note 2: Admiral Thomas J. Patterson graduated from the Merchant
Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York in 1944. While
still a midshipman he sailed on his first Liberty ship,
the SS Jim Bridger. Upon graduation, he served in the
merchant marine, then went on active duty in the Navy in
1950. While there he commanded a Liberty ship, the USS
Guardian AGR-1 ex James G. Squire. Joining the Maritime
Administration in 1962, he became Western Region Director
in 1970. He founded the National Liberty Ship Memorial
and was responsible for selecting the O'Brien to be a
museum ship. In 1982 he was appointed as Deputy
superintendent to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He
retired in 1985 and now devotes his full attention to
the Jeremiah O'Brien.
Note 3: Sometimes called "Gumby suits" because they give the
wearer the appearance of that cartoon-like character,
immersion suits are similar to a skin diver's dry suit,
covering the entire body and protecting the wearer from
exposure if forced to abandon ship. Immersion suits are
required on all ships traveling above 35 degrees north
or south latitude.
Note 4: The Last Liberty by the same author is the history of
the Jeremiah O'Brien from her launching in 1943 to her
50th anniversary.
Note 5: DUKW is one of the few military abbreviations that is
not an acronym. The letter D represents the year of the
vehicle's design, U indicates it is amphibious, K
signifies front-wheel drive and W means rear-wheel
drive.
Photos: Marty Wefald
Author of the recently published book, recipes from a coal-fired
stove, he has also written:
Capt. Jaffee's articles and stories have appeared in more than
100 magazines. He has served as technical consultant to the Atlas
Warships series and is a contributor to the soon-to-be-published
Virginia Military Institute 3 volume Encyclopedia of Naval History. |
APPOINTMENT IN NORMANDY, by Capt. Walter W. Jaffee (
Ernie's plan was thorough and well thought-out.
It addressed financial planning, dry docking, logistics,
supply, crewing, shoreside support, coordination with
government agencies and myriad other details.
Fifty-four ports of call were suggested. It was
endorsed by Capt. George M. Tuttle, Jr., the ship's
master in 1987, Marci Hooper, who then was second purser
and storekeeper, Kevin T. Kilduff, a volunteer third
assistant engineer, and Susan Krelle, a volunteer member
of the engine department. But it involved taking the
ship, almost 50 years old, on a voyage halfway around
the world and back. Many on the Board thought it
impractical, if not downright foolish, to even think of
taking the vessel outside the Golden Gate, much less on
an 18,000-mile voyage.
During the next few weeks Marci and Ernie wrote
down more ideas, expanding the concept to include the
quincentennial of the arrival of Columbus in the new
world, scheduled for San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1992. In
October of 1987 Marci invited Ernie Murdock, George
Tuttle, Kevin Kilduff and Susan Krelle to a dinner party
at her home. By the end of the evening, they had a
draft of the proposal which was researched and refined
into the formal document presented on December 10.
One anticipated source of funds was the eagerly
awaited legislation that called for selling six scrap
ships from the National Defense Reserve Fleet, two for
each of the museum ships: Jeremiah O'Brien, John W.
Brown and Lane Victory. Patterson said that
Congresswoman Helen Bentley's (D-Maryland) staff
reported the "Scrap Ship Bill" was ready to submit and
that Capt. Warren LeBack, the Maritime Administrator,
expected the legislation to pass on the next effort.
This was in part due to several new friends in
Washington such as Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and
Nancy Pelosi (all D-California), all sympathetic to our
efforts. The amount netted would depend on the demand
for scrap steel and the value of the dollar on the world
market, but many thought $750,000 was a realistic amount
to expect from the sale for the use of each museum ship.
One disappointing fact was that the federal
budget for 1993 was already in place so we could not
expect funds from that quarter, and even if the scrap
ship bill passed, it probably wouldn't be until the
fall, so funds would not be available from that source
until 1994. Ernie Murdock reminded the committee that
the ship must be drydocked in October of 1993 if the
Normandy voyage was to be made. At $500,000, it was the
single most costly line item in the budget. Where would
we get the money?
That same week, Adm. Tom Patterson, Bob Blake,
and Francois Le Pendu, a French-speaking volunteer, went
to France and England.