Posted on 03/14/2006 5:07:14 PM PST by SandRat
GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) were named honorary flagships March 13 for the upcoming search for the remains of the original Bonhomme Richard, which sank in the North Sea in 1779.
The search project revolves around one of the most memorable battles of the American Revolution, where John Paul Jones, an American naval hero, uttered his legendary words, “I have not yet begun to fight!”
“It’s entirely appropriate that these front-line warships are honorary flagships of the expedition, as they are representative of Jones’ legacy,” said Capt. Jack Ringelberg, president of the Ocean Technology Foundation (OTF).
LHD 6, homeported in San Diego, is the third U.S. warship to bear the name Bonhomme Richard. With a crew of 1,200 Sailors, today’s Bonhomme Richard carries into action 1,500 Marines and their aircraft, vehicles and equipment. In 2005, Bonhomme Richard and embarked Marines delivered humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Indonesian tsunami survivors and conducted security and combat operations in the northern Persian Gulf and Iraq.
“Capt. John Paul Jones and the crew of Bonhomme Richard established the U.S. Navy’s reputation for courage and determination in battle, and we are proud and thrilled to be named a flagship for this historic expedition,” said USS Bonhomme Richard’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Stephen Greene. “Locating the original Bonhomme Richard some 227 years later would be a tremendous oceanographic technical achievement and fitting tribute to Jones and his crew.”
DDG 53 is the sixth ship to carry the name of the U.S. Navy’s founding father. John Paul Jones, an Aegis destroyer, has represented the ship’s motto and Jones’ own promise to go “In Harm's Way” during the global war on terrorism.
“The legacy of John Paul Jones is carried forth in our ship on a daily basis, and it is an honor to be associated with such an important research project, one that will hopefully enlighten us more about Jones’ most famous ship and certainly, his most famous battle,” said James Housinger, John Paul Jones’ commanding officer.
“This year marks the 100th anniversary of the celebrated return of Jones’ body to the United States,” said Ringelberg, “and it would be great to be able to say that we have helped bring closure to this chapter in U.S. naval history by locating the remains of his ship.”
The OTF is a nonprofit organization based in Groton on the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus. Its mission is to foster excellence in ocean exploration, marine research and education.
Wasn't there an aircraft carrier back in the 50s/60s named USS Bonhomme Richard, affectionately known by her crew as the "Bonnie Dick?" I seem to remember that around Olongapo in 1961. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Now that you mention it....but I can't confirm it.
I had the Revell model around 1960 or so.
I remember that Revell model. She blowed up real good.
The first book I ever remember reading cover to cover as a kid was a biography of John Paul Jones (not the bass player!)
Sounds like the lamentable demise of the Graf Spee. I had a motorized model of the formidable German pocket battleship. When it came time to mothball her, one night, I pried the deck open with a pocket knife, filled her to the gunnel's with calcium carbide, replaced the deck and covered it with flammable plastic cement. [See where this is going?
Solemnly we took her down Springfield Pond, in Springfield Park in Springfield Gardens, Queens. A flip of the switch and her mighty screws sprung to life one last time. A strike of a match set the plastic cement afire as she made for the center of the pond, her majestic wake glimmering in the dim park lights. As the fire did its grim and mute work, she began shipping water, the water reacting with a full load of calcium carbide to produce ethylene gas, which ignited by the flaming deck made a column of flame five feet high on the still wintry pond.
Have we had this conversation before? My personal best (along with my brother) was our third Fletcher-class Revell destroyer. We built M-80's into the hull during construction . . . the resulting explosion sent burning plastic and petrol onto our roof. My brother says that when he looked over at my dad expecting the worst (I was hosing the roof), he saw him laughing.
" The first book I ever remember reading cover to cover as a kid was a biography of John Paul Jones (not the bass player!)"
Same here! I wish I could remember the name of it. I ended up in the U.S. Navy in part due to that book.
Just like the real Bismark, my model was more difficult to sink than I realized. She was holed many times before a BB tore through her port hull near the waterline and exited her starboard side below the waterline.
Had we known the lyrics, we might have then sung Ich Hatten Einen Kameraden. (German equivalent to Taps).
I wish I could remember the name as well. It inspired me to build my own boat.. which promptly sank in a local pond. I ended up in the Air Force in part due to that!
Lol!
No, but my brother did attach a long string to 12 OZ can of petrol (or as we call it "gasoline") and placed it on a burning grill located in the space between our house and our neighbor's. He yanked on the string pouring the contents onto the burning coals. When no great fuel air bomb fireball ensued he ambled over investigate. Fortunately for him (though maybe not for his future wives) a MOAB sized fireball erupted while he was still about ten feet away.
Our neighbor's wife, who was innocently sunning herself in her yard, across a low fence must have felt the frission shared by Hiroshima survivors. Visibly shaken and trembling, she retreated to safety of her house, loudly espousing her clinical assessment of my brother's, parents' and whole family's mental health.
I used "petrol" because I thought simply calling it "gas" was too vague. The only bona-fide mushroom cloud I have ever created was in my high school AP Chem class.
Upon further review of my memory, it was Stephen Decatur and this book (there was one on JPJ as well):
http://www.seriesbooks.com/stephendecatur.htm
Springfield Gardens??? I grew up in Fresh Meadows, but my Grandparents lived in St. Albans, near the Jamaica water works, on 193rd St.!
LC
Connecticut ping!
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