thedrifter
08-20-06, 07:31 AM
Posted on Sun, Aug. 20, 2006
The Marines come through again
Eight from WWII raid attend ship's christening
By MICHAEL NEWSOM
mmnewsom@sunherald.com
PASCAGOULA - Luminaries here to christen the 844-foot-long Makin Island said the ship is a Titan-sized tribute to the spirit of those who built it in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.
The Makin Island on Saturday became the first ship since the storm to be christened at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, before a crowd of dignitaries and eight members of the Marine Corps unit that in 1942 raided the Pacific island for which the ship is named. The ceremony came on the 64th anniversary of that offensive against the Japanese.
U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, whose father, Chester Lott, worked at the shipyard, said the Makin Island was under construction and endured Katrina's violent surge nearly a year ago. Now it stands as a symbol of South Mississippians' toughness.
"Like this ship, we have weathered the storm and we are looking forward," Lott said.
Lott praised the workers who continued to build the mammoth craft while enduring much personal tragedy.
"They said 'we will go back to work, we will clean up this mess, and we will build these ships for the Coast Guard and the Navy', and they did it," he said.
The Makin Island is nearly as long as the 861-foot, 72-story Trump World Tower in New York is tall, according to www.wikipedia.org. The craft weighs 45,000 tons, and cost about $1.37 billion.
The Makin Island is a member of the Wasp class of multi-purpose amphibious assault ships, which can carry some 1,000 sailors, 1,900 Marines, a squadron of Harrier II jets, and various Marine and Navy helicopters.
The Makin Island also has a 600-bed hospital. It can travel at just over 20 knots, or 23.5 miles per hour, and its two gas turbine engines are each rated at 35,000 horsepower.
Northrop Grumman executives said the plant is doing well following Katrina. Since the storm, workers have started 12 ship projects and three have been delivered.
Eight surviving members of the U.S. Marine Raider Companies A and B, who took control of Makin Island in 1942, sat solemnly peering at the huge ship. "Gung Ho," which means "work together," was their motto and it will also be the ship's motto.
Raider Julius Cotten of Crystal Springs said the weather conditions were rough when the elite unit went ashore in rubber boats and overwhelmed the Japanese defenders. "We were the forerunners of Special Forces," he said. "We were their daddies."
President Franklin Roosevelt's son, Maj. James Roosevelt, was among the raiders who stormed ashore that day.
Howard Young, a raider, said the Marines went in heavily armed and made quick work of the Japanese. "Very quickly we wiped them out," Young said.
The surviving Marines came to Pascagoula from places like Kansas City, Mo., and Peoria, Ill. The christening was also attended by Donald Winter, secretary of the Navy; Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps; and Ronald Sugar, chairman and chief executive officer of the Northrop Grumman Corp., among others.
Hagee's wife, Silke Hagee, was the ship's sponsor and broke the ceremonial bottle on its propeller.
"Ladies and gentlemen, take a good look behind me," she said. "That's our ship, that's your ship. She's a beautiful ship."
Ellie
The Marines come through again
Eight from WWII raid attend ship's christening
By MICHAEL NEWSOM
mmnewsom@sunherald.com
PASCAGOULA - Luminaries here to christen the 844-foot-long Makin Island said the ship is a Titan-sized tribute to the spirit of those who built it in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.
The Makin Island on Saturday became the first ship since the storm to be christened at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, before a crowd of dignitaries and eight members of the Marine Corps unit that in 1942 raided the Pacific island for which the ship is named. The ceremony came on the 64th anniversary of that offensive against the Japanese.
U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, whose father, Chester Lott, worked at the shipyard, said the Makin Island was under construction and endured Katrina's violent surge nearly a year ago. Now it stands as a symbol of South Mississippians' toughness.
"Like this ship, we have weathered the storm and we are looking forward," Lott said.
Lott praised the workers who continued to build the mammoth craft while enduring much personal tragedy.
"They said 'we will go back to work, we will clean up this mess, and we will build these ships for the Coast Guard and the Navy', and they did it," he said.
The Makin Island is nearly as long as the 861-foot, 72-story Trump World Tower in New York is tall, according to www.wikipedia.org. The craft weighs 45,000 tons, and cost about $1.37 billion.
The Makin Island is a member of the Wasp class of multi-purpose amphibious assault ships, which can carry some 1,000 sailors, 1,900 Marines, a squadron of Harrier II jets, and various Marine and Navy helicopters.
The Makin Island also has a 600-bed hospital. It can travel at just over 20 knots, or 23.5 miles per hour, and its two gas turbine engines are each rated at 35,000 horsepower.
Northrop Grumman executives said the plant is doing well following Katrina. Since the storm, workers have started 12 ship projects and three have been delivered.
Eight surviving members of the U.S. Marine Raider Companies A and B, who took control of Makin Island in 1942, sat solemnly peering at the huge ship. "Gung Ho," which means "work together," was their motto and it will also be the ship's motto.
Raider Julius Cotten of Crystal Springs said the weather conditions were rough when the elite unit went ashore in rubber boats and overwhelmed the Japanese defenders. "We were the forerunners of Special Forces," he said. "We were their daddies."
President Franklin Roosevelt's son, Maj. James Roosevelt, was among the raiders who stormed ashore that day.
Howard Young, a raider, said the Marines went in heavily armed and made quick work of the Japanese. "Very quickly we wiped them out," Young said.
The surviving Marines came to Pascagoula from places like Kansas City, Mo., and Peoria, Ill. The christening was also attended by Donald Winter, secretary of the Navy; Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps; and Ronald Sugar, chairman and chief executive officer of the Northrop Grumman Corp., among others.
Hagee's wife, Silke Hagee, was the ship's sponsor and broke the ceremonial bottle on its propeller.
"Ladies and gentlemen, take a good look behind me," she said. "That's our ship, that's your ship. She's a beautiful ship."
Ellie