USS Edson facts for kids
USS Edson (DD-946) is a special type of warship called a Forrest Sherman|destroyer. It was built in 1958 by Bath Iron Works in Maine for the United States Navy. Its first home port was Long Beach, California.
Edson spent a lot of its time serving in the Western Pacific and Far East, especially near Taiwan and Vietnam. It earned several awards, including three Navy Unit Commendations, for its excellent service. During the Vietnam War, it faced attacks from North Vietnamese forces and was even mistakenly hit by friendly forces once.
After a fire in 1974, Edson returned to service and helped evacuate people from Phnom Penh and Saigon. It was taken out of service in 1988. The next year, it became a museum ship in New York. In 2012, it was decided that Edson would become a museum ship again, this time in Bay City, Michigan. It is now a National Historic Landmark and one of only two Forrest Sherman-class destroyers still existing.
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Contents
- Early Years and First Missions
- Service in the Western Pacific
- Becoming a Museum Ship
- Images for kids
- See also
Early Years and First Missions
USS Edson was named after Major General Merritt "Red Mike" Edson. He was a brave Marine General who won the Medal of Honor and other awards during World War II.
The ship's construction started on December 3, 1956. It was launched into the water on January 4, 1958. Mrs. M. A. Edson, the General's widow, was the ship's sponsor. The ship officially joined the Navy on November 7, 1958.
Edson sailed to the Caribbean and Peru for its initial training. This training helps test the ship and its crew. On March 2, 1959, it arrived at its home port in Long Beach, California. For the rest of that year, it practiced and improved its skills along the west coast.
In January 1960, Edson went on its first mission to the Far East. It patrolled the Taiwan Straits and took part in training exercises near Okinawa and Japan. On April 29, it rescued three pilots whose plane crashed into the ocean. After this mission, Edson returned to Long Beach for major repairs and upgrades.
Service in the Western Pacific
In June 1961, Edson visited Portland, Oregon, for the annual Rose Festival. Later that year, it began its second mission to the Western Pacific. It spent three months working with aircraft carriers and patrolled the waters near Taiwan.
On March 13, 1964, Edson started its third mission to the Western Pacific. It helped patrol the Taiwan area and participated in joint operations with other countries. In August 1964, Edson was in the Gulf of Tonkin. It received a Navy Unit Commendation for its excellent service there between August 2 and 5, 1964.
During its fifth mission in 1967, Edson was hit by a shore battery from North Vietnam. This happened while the ship was providing gunfire support. Edson also served as a "plane guard" for aircraft carriers. This meant it was ready to rescue pilots if their planes crashed. It also took part in search and rescue missions and provided naval gunfire support during the Vietnam War. On June 17, 1968, Edson and other ships were mistakenly hit by friendly forces from the US Air Force.
On December 12, 1974, a fire broke out in the ship's engine room during training. The fire was caused by oil spraying from a broken pipe. The crew quickly put out the fire, and no one was hurt.
In January 1975, after repairs, Edson continued its mission in the Western Pacific. In April, it helped with the evacuation of people from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Saigon, Vietnam. For these efforts, it received two more Meritorious Unit Commendations.
Edson was taken out of service on December 15, 1988. It was then stored in Philadelphia. At that time, it was the last destroyer in the U.S. Navy that relied only on guns for its main weapons.
Becoming a Museum Ship
From June 30, 1989, to June 14, 2004, Edson was a museum ship at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. It was replaced by a Concorde airplane. In 1990, the ship was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.
In 2004, the ship was moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for repairs. After that, it was stored again in Philadelphia. Two groups, one in Bay City, Michigan, and one in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, wanted Edson to become a museum ship in their cities. The proposal from Bay City was chosen.
The Navy confirmed that USS Edson was ready to travel on July 17, 2012. It began its journey to Michigan the next day and arrived on August 7, 2012. After about a year at a temporary location, it was moved to its permanent spot. On May 7, 2013, USS Edson arrived at its final museum location in Bangor Township, Michigan. 43°36′50″N 83°52′8″W / 43.61389°N 83.86889°W
Images for kids
The bow of USS Edson at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States |
|
| Name | Edson |
| Namesake | Merritt A. Edson |
| Awarded | 27 January 1956 |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works, Bath ME |
| Laid down | 3 December 1956 |
| Launched | 4 January 1958 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. M. A. Edson (widow) |
| Acquired | 31 October 1958 |
| Commissioned | 7 November 1958 |
| Decommissioned | 15 December 1988 |
| Stricken | 31 January 1989 |
| Homeport | Long Beach, California, Newport, Rhode Island (1977-1988) |
| Identification | NJRE (radio call sign) |
| Nickname(s) | "Fast Eddie", "The Grey Ghost of the Vietnamese Coast" |
| Honors and awards |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Medal, Combat Action Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation (with Operational "O" device) |
| Status | Museum ship at Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum, Bay City, Michigan since 2013 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Forrest Sherman-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Draft | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 × 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) Babcock & Wilcox boilers, Worthington steam turbines; 70,000 shp (52,000 kW); 2 × shafts. |
| Speed | 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) |
| Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 17 officers, 218 enlisted |
| Armament |
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USS Edson
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| Location | Bay City, Michigan |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000333 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 21 June 1990 |
| Designated NHL | 21 June 1990 |
USS Edson in 2003
See also
In Spanish: USS Edson (DD-946) para niños
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bay County, Michigan
- The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episode "The Thirty-Fathom Grave" in which the ship makes appearances
