Great Grandfather's Boat - The USS Indiana

Today I found a documentary video on the USS Indiana, the ship my great grandfather served on during the Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion. The Indiana was famous not only for being one of the first battleships, it was the first modern battleship in the United States Navy. (Modern designation BB-1) The same fleet that produced the Maine and the Olympia made this boat that bridged two centuries, two different eras of warfare and evolved into the first Dreadnought-class battleship.

This comprehensive and incredibly well-researched video is brought to you by Lance Geiger, aka "The History Guy" who is obviously the leading expert in his field on the subject, so without any further explanation I will let him do what he does best...

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Bonus content!

Here is the hat ribbon we found in Grandpa's belongings that says USS INDIANA on it. Below that is an original crew photo that was framed. He's somewhere in the picture.

The Long Voyage Home

Yesterday I finally had an opportunity to display my Grandfather's artifacts on board a Navy vessel that served in the battle of Leyte Gulf. Not just any ship, the Admiral's flagship.

In the Captain's stateroom aboard the Battleship New Jersey, in Grandma's birth city of Camden, across the river from the Philadelphia Navy yard where he enlisted in 1942. In a way, I brought him home. There is no better place to tell a story than to go back to where it all started.

He has been gone for 31 years.

We lost our family hero a long time ago and I was very young when it happened, but the military honors  at his burial left such an impression on me it changed my life. Ever since I was a kid, I've always liked to talk about him as if he never left. As long as I recreate history, his memory is kept alive and that legacy is here to stay. I have worked tirelessly to make him proud, in everything I do.

All of it was made possible because I met the museum curator at the Fort Miles event over a year ago. This is why I go to so many events and try to make as many connections as I can, you never know where it's are going to lead. Sometimes it takes months or years for an opportunity to develop. 

Most WWII history events are all about the Army, Marines & Air Force, the Navy rarely gets any attention. But here I had a captive audience. The genuine interest of the public, from families and docents and veterans-even teenagers- made it all worthwhile, many website cards were taken and QR codes scanned. I don't think I ever worked so hard or so long to prepare for an event in advance.

This particular journey started in 2012 when the family was cleaning out the house and I brought everything home. For now, it will be a traveling exhibit. One day when I too have passed on, I hope the collection will find a forever home in a permanent museum.