An SOS for the USS United States, "America's flagship"

As I have noted before, I have been fascinated with ships and especially the great ocean liners since I was a child.  One of the greatest ever of the ocean liners - the USS United States - was build as the crow flies less than ten miles from where the boyfriend and I live.  And when I say fast, I do mean fast: the top speed approaches 45 mph even though the ship measures 9990 feet in length (100 feet longer than Titanic).  Just this weekend I drove by Newport News Shipbuilding where the United States was build and saw the Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) taking shape in a dry dock.  Sadly, the USS United States - which I was lucky enough to tour many years ago - faces a real threat of going to the scrap yard if funds are not raised to save her.  A piece in CNN looks at the effort to save the ship and her proud legacy which includes the fastest crossing times ever for a North Atlantic liner.  Here are highlights:

For me, touring the SS United States felt kind of like I was exploring my grandmother's attic for the first time, not knowing what I'd find.

The ship offers lots of room for surprises. It stretches the length of New York's Chrysler Building and is 100 feet longer than the Titanic.

Its legendary decks were the site of untold stories, where movie stars rubbed shoulders with famous musicians and kings.

And it's fast. On its first voyage, the SS United States set a trans-Atlantic speed record -- three days, 10 hours and 42 minutes -- a feat that has never been surpassed.

Now, six decades after its heyday, the vessel dubbed "America's flagship" is in need of a rescue. Expensive maintenance may force the owners to sell the historic ship for scrap metal, unless a solution can be found.

During my tour through the dark and damp shell of former grandeur, the vastness of Gibbs' creation became even more evident.

Gibbs, a naval architect responsible for nearly 5,500 Navy vessels that helped win World War II, put everything he had into his ultimate ship. The 2,200-passenger liner also was meant to double as a troop transport ship if war broke out.

Gibbs' obsession with creating the perfect ocean liner has now transformed into his granddaughter's obsession with saving it.

"This is an extraordinary American achievement, an amazing expression of our post-war history, and it would be so tragic to see it destroyed."

Standing in the sunlight flooding the hefty enclosed promenade, Gibbs admits she never traveled aboard "The Big U."

"I didn't know my grandfather. He died when I was young," she said, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows. "But I've gotten to know him through this ship. His spirit is here."   "He felt this was the perfect ship and loved what she said about the nation. He saw the ship as a metaphor for the nation's post-war strength, pride and accomplishment."

Gibbs remembers traveling to Philadelphia from her home in Washington to see the SS United States for the first time. Along the way, she read her grandmother's diary out loud in the car.  The journal revealed tales about the ship's maiden voyage and a joyful conga line celebrating the new speed record. It unveiled a bygone era when passengers donned mink stoles and enjoyed a liquor selection that included 49 kinds of scotch.

[T]he SS United States remains nothing less than majestic.  The longer I was on the ship, the easier it was to imagine it full of life. I could picture Marlon Brando chatting with artist Salvador Dali in the ballroom; hear Duke Ellington on stage tickling the ivories on one of the ship's fireproof pianos; or watch President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy strolling on the decks.

Keeping the ship afloat costs nearly $80,000 a month for basic maintenance, insurance and security.  The SS United States Conservancy launched a website where visitors can sponsor a piece of the ship for $1 per square foot.

Gibbs says they have about two months before they'll have to sell the ship for scrap -- something she won't even allow herself to think about.  

"Its name is the SS United States, and she's been here (in Philadelphia) for 17 years because she's not done yet," Gibbs said. "We have to save her."

America destroys so much of its history and then Americans ironically travel to Europe to visit the buildings and historic sites that Europeans preserve even as the ones in America are torn down.   It would be travesty to lose the USS United States.  Please consider donating to the Conservancy.  I have.