Posted on 04/27/2007 5:30:03 PM PDT by SandRat
BISBEE — A replica of the USS Bisbee now rests in the council chambers of Bisbee city hall.
Thanks to donations by members of the USS Bisbee Association, the name-sake model frigate is proudly displayed where all the citizens of Bisbee may see it. The 11 surviving crew members, and family, of the 304-foot long Coast Guard frigate arrived in Bisbee Thursday morning to present the hand-crafted ship and a stainless steel plaque to the city in a special ceremony.
The men of the ship have always held the City of Bisbee and its copper mines in high regard, said Thom Weber, a former seaman in charge of fire control.
“This has been a dream of ours ever since we formed the association in 1975. We always said, ‘Let’s go to Bisbee.’ But, we couldn’t get here for some reason or the other.
“We are happy to be here in Bisbee. We had a wonderful tour around town this morning ... trying to find city hall,” he joked. “It was a nice trip.”
Weber said he grew up in a small town that had a copper mine and used to play around in it as a child.
Mayor Ron Oertle told the gathering, “We’re proud to accept this ship and plaque. I can only repeat the words of the Bisbee Daily Review, September 13, 1943 — ‘To the men and officers who will serve on the new USS Bisbee, we, as citizens of the Bisbee district, pledge ourselves to back you and the Bisbee to the upmost so that you will ever be proud of the name your ship carries.’ May the ship and the plaque always be a reminder that the USS Bisbee and the people who served on it will never be forgotten and their service to their nation shall always be cherished.”
Weber, from Sioux Falls, S.D., then presented Carrie Gustavson, Bisbee & Historical Mining Museum director, with some personal memorabilia from the Philippines to place in the museum. The items were a hand-made Filipino knife, a naval sewing kit he used and part of the banner that used to fly on the ship before it was decommissioned.
The frigate was named to honor the city that supplied 80 percent of the copper used by the military from 1941 to 1946 for the effort during World War II.
The ship and crew served in the Pacific Theatre in one of the most courageous battles at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines against the Japanese Imperial Navy and again at the battle for Biak.
She served throughout the war and had the proud distinction of losing not one crew member.
The USS Bisbee was commissioned on February 15, 1944. She was one of many ships of the frigate class named after small cities of economic importance.
Bisbee’s first Gold Star Mother Mary Murphy, whose son had been killed in the Pearl Harbor attack, christened the ship in a ceremony that was attended by many Bisbee officials.
The USS Bisbee went to war manned by the U.S. Coast Guard and assigned to the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet that summer.
The ship and crew took part in the battle at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, one of the largest amphibious operations mounted by American and Allied forces in the Pacific Theater. There, she served as a patrol and harbor control vessel.
The Bisbee received a Unit Citation Letter of Commendation for superior gunnery at Biak, a small island near the northern coast of Papua, New Guinea.
In 1945, The USS Bisbee was sent to Alaska to escort merchant vessels and Army transport ships and acted as guardship for Fleet Air Wing 4 in the North Pacific Ocean. Although she was the target of enemy torpedos, kamikazes and shore batteries, no crew member was lost during her World War II commission in the Pacific. She was de-commissioned and loaned to Russia in August 1945. Five years later, she was returned to the U.S. Navy and re-commissioned for duty in Korea where she served on patrol, escort and bombardment duty until October 1951.
On Feb. 13, 1952, the ship was transferred to Colombia under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She served as the Capitan Tono until being scrapped in 1963, according to Internet history sources.
All told, the USS Bisbee was awarded five battle stars in 45 campaigns in three major operations, three battle stars for her World War II service and two for the Korean War. The plaque has a map of the Pacific and notes where the ship harbored in her two years at war.
It reads: “September 23, 1944 — For superior gunnery at Biak, the USS Bisbee received a unit citation Letter of Commendation with others as Task Group 77.1 joint forces command vessel for Philippine liberation.
Though it was originally planned to be donated to the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, Gustavson thought it would be better to lend the ship long-term to city hall, where more residents would be able to see it.
herald/review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
This Thread’s For You Tonk! Wherever You Are!
BTTT
Bravo Zulu!!!
Anyone know what happened to "TonkinGulfYachtClub"? Is he recovering? Did he pass on? Last thing I read about him didn't paint a very hopeful picture.
On vacation, we went to the open house at Eglin AFB. I got a little choked up when we walked by the Coast Guard booth and the wonderful Coast Guard Auxiliary was there playing with the kids. All I could think of was Tonk.
My 2yo fell madly in love with this guy:
That's not my kid, but he was just like that! :-)
We don’t know.
FRmail StarCMC for the latest answer.
Tonk would have loved that image.
Me too.
Yeah - he would have. The Auxiliary guys are the greatest!!
Hear! Hear! Tonk, our prayers are still with you.
Thanks Sandy.
Prayers for Tonk...
Sure miss him and think fondly of him.
Note: Bisbee was manned by the Coast Guard during World War II, and by the Navy during the Korean War.
Specifications: Displacement 1,430 t (lt), 2,415 t. (fl); Length 303' 11"; Beam 37' 6"; Draft 13' 8"; Speed 20.3 kts; Complement 190; Armament three single 3"/50 gun mounts, two twin 40mm gun mounts, nine 20mm gun mounts, two dct, eight dcp, one dcp (hh); Propulsion two 5,500 iHP vertical triple expansion turbines, two shafts, three boilers.
| Click On Image For Full Size Image |
Size | Image Description | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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94k | Off Coco Solo, Canal Zone, on 24 April 1944. U.S. Navy photo 80-G-232334 from the National Archives |
Mike Green | |
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58k | c. September-October 1950 Yokosuka Japan |
Paul Burket Crewmember 1950-51 |
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66k | c. September-October 1950 Yokosuka Japan |
Paul Burket Crewmember 1950-51 |
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41k | c. September-October 1950 Yokosuka Japan- |
Paul Burket Crewmember 1950-51 |
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Missin’ Tonk..I know he knows we all do.
BTTT!!!
DD-817 U.S.S. Corry was the third destroyer to bear the name Corry. The first ship, DD-334, launched in 1921, was named after naval aviator, Lieut. Comdr. William Merrill Corry who died in 1920, of burns received while trying to save the pilot of his crashed aircraft. For his heroism Corry was later awarded the Medal of Honor. The second Corry, DD-463, was lost on D-day.
BTTT
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