Posted on 09/08/2005 8:58:34 PM PDT by lunarbicep
SAN FRANCISCO - After city officials rejected a plan to bring the USS Iowa to San Francisco earlier this year, supporters of the idea have come up with a new plan that they hope will convince leaders to welcome the historic battleship here.
Supporters say a proposal to turn part of the vessel into a museum honoring the contributions of gays, lesbians, ethnic minorities and women to the military should help sway the Board of Supervisors' decision.
In July, the board voted 8-3 to oppose taking in the ship, citing local opposition to the Iraq war and the military's stance on gays, among other things.
But local veterans groups and history buffs have rallied hard for the Iowa, which served in battles since World War II, carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders and suffered one of the nation's most deadly military accidents in 1989 when 47 sailors were killed in an explosion during a training exercise.
"I think the Iowa could be a very powerful teaching tool regarding recruitment and U.S. defense policy," said Merylin Wong, president of the Historic Ship Memorial at Pacific Square, the San Francisco organization lobbying for the ship.
Even if the board approves the proposal, San Francisco still must bid against Stockton, where city officials already welcome it.
The idea of a museum about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays also may not sit well with Navy officials.
Jack Green, a spokesman for the Navy Historical Society, which evaluates exhibits that appear on board donated ships, said an exhibit about a controversial defense policy would need approval from the secretary of the Navy.
"That sort of thing would be judged on a case-by-case basis," Green said. "None of the (exhibits) I know of deal with social issues."
Steve Boeckels, a local gay activist who helped come up with the idea for the museum, said he's seeking support from civil rights organizations.
"This is an opportunity for San Francisco to be first in displaying the value of acceptance for minorities and others who have sacrificed their lives for this country," said the 31-year-old Boeckels, who was discharged from the Army under "don't ask, don't tell" in 2000.
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Crap, now that insipid "In the Navy" song from the Village People is stuck in my brain. MAKE IT STOP!!!!!
Another city has already welcomed the ship, and I bet they don't want the pink room museum option, thankyouverymuch.
"Supporters say a proposal to turn part of the vessel into a museum honoring the contributions of gays, lesbians, ethnic minorities and women to the military should help sway the Board of Supervisors' decision."
Will it be located on the poop deck?
Iowa was my dad's ship ... and I am livid.
They are mentally ill and sexually addicted. Up until the 70's homosexuality was a psychological disorder vs the lifestyle choice it is now. Makes one wonder when other mental illnesses will become acceptable to please a few sickos.
I think it has one to this already... It’s call turret two
A couple years ago, my saintly church lady mother, when hearing about gays in the military, quietly commented that her cousin (in the Navy in WWII) used to make jokes about not dropping soap in the shower...
I'm not sure I can explain more on a family webpage...
What absolute bullcrap.
I would rather see the IOWA go somewhere else.
If they do this travesty and bastardization then it was never to honor the military by bringing the IOWA it was all about findin JUST ANY tourist trap attraction.
San Francisco is poofta town and needs to just be left alone and a child free zone.
Belated ping!
The SF politicians drove every vestige of the Navy and military out of the Bay area. The Navy and military should pull EVERYTHING (left) out of that community and sit back and let them rot when the next earthquake, flood, or whatever well-deserved disaster befalls them! As for the Iowa, and any of the other "military" museums in the Bay area - they would be better off deep-sixed than bringing one dime into that worthless community.
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