thedrifter
05-27-07, 06:56 AM
Recalling sacrifices of Marines
Those who served aboard the USS Portland will be memorialized on Sunday.
By GREGORY D. KESICH
Staff Writer
There are few people still alive who remember seeing the heavy cruiser USS Portland, which paid a visit to its namesake city in October 1945 after an action-packed career in World War II.
But thanks to the foresight of a local businessman, the ship is still remembered for its mainmast and bridge shield, which are permanently installed at Fort Allen Park on the Eastern Promenade.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, a bronze plaque will be added to the memorial, remembering the U.S. Marine Corps members who were attached to the ship from 1933 to 1945.
The plaque is the latest addition to the unusual naval memorial created through the leadership of Arthur Forrestall, who rescued the surviving pieces of the Portland from a Florida scrap yard in 1959.
It's a memorial that grows in importance each year, as living members of the World War II generation pass away, said local historian and state Rep. Herbert Adams, D-Portland.
Without their personal accounts, Adams said, the things left behind by those who fought the war are all the rest of us have to remind us of the sacrifice they made.
"It would be inconceivable to the generation who fought World War II that we would ever forget the tremendous cost of what they achieved," Adams said. "But we have."
The latest plaque is a gift from the Seagoing Marines Association, which has placed similar markers around the country on old ships that are now museums. The memorial to the USS Portland is one of the few monuments of its kind, said Art Hunt, a Marine veteran from Haverhill, Mass., who will speak at the dedication Sunday.
"The city of Portland and all Americans should be extremely proud of this ship," Hunt said. "The visitors to this rare site should be appreciative of the combined community efforts to preserve these artifacts."
The USS Portland monument honors the ship and her men who were killed in action.
The Portland was launched from Quincy, Mass., in 1932. It was 610 feet long and equipped with 25 guns.
Affectionately known as "Sweet Pea" by its crew, the Portland was one the most active cruisers in the Pacific fleet, earning 16 battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation.
It was badly damaged by a torpedo and shell fire at Guadalcanal in November 1942. Eighteen men on board were killed.
The ship was repaired and saw action in Alaskan waters, the Philippines and Okinawa.
At war's end, the Portland accepted the surrender of all Japanese forces in the island garrisons at a ceremony at Truk in the Caroline Islands.
Forrestall, who died in 1999, was a naval reserve officer and executive with the Portland Lumber Co. when he read that the ship, which had been damaged in a hurricane, was scheduled to be scrapped.
In a petition to the Portland City Council, Forrestall wrote that the Portland had an impressive record and deserved a monument.
"What a crime it is that we have so much and do so little with it," he wrote.
He went to Panama City, Fla., and salvaged the mast and shield. They were transported to Portland on the State of Maine, the Maine Maritime Academy's training ship. The parts were later assembled at Fort Allen Park. The monument was dedicated on July 4, 1962.
The monument took on a broader role as a memorial to other World War II efforts in 2000, with the dedication of a plaque honoring the Arctic Campaign that supplied Russia with food and weapons during its fight against Nazi Germany.
Now the Seagoing Marines plaque will help keep memories alive, Adams said.
"That plaque will be there after the last veteran is gone," he said.
Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336 or at:
gkesich@pressherald.com
Ellie
Those who served aboard the USS Portland will be memorialized on Sunday.
By GREGORY D. KESICH
Staff Writer
There are few people still alive who remember seeing the heavy cruiser USS Portland, which paid a visit to its namesake city in October 1945 after an action-packed career in World War II.
But thanks to the foresight of a local businessman, the ship is still remembered for its mainmast and bridge shield, which are permanently installed at Fort Allen Park on the Eastern Promenade.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, a bronze plaque will be added to the memorial, remembering the U.S. Marine Corps members who were attached to the ship from 1933 to 1945.
The plaque is the latest addition to the unusual naval memorial created through the leadership of Arthur Forrestall, who rescued the surviving pieces of the Portland from a Florida scrap yard in 1959.
It's a memorial that grows in importance each year, as living members of the World War II generation pass away, said local historian and state Rep. Herbert Adams, D-Portland.
Without their personal accounts, Adams said, the things left behind by those who fought the war are all the rest of us have to remind us of the sacrifice they made.
"It would be inconceivable to the generation who fought World War II that we would ever forget the tremendous cost of what they achieved," Adams said. "But we have."
The latest plaque is a gift from the Seagoing Marines Association, which has placed similar markers around the country on old ships that are now museums. The memorial to the USS Portland is one of the few monuments of its kind, said Art Hunt, a Marine veteran from Haverhill, Mass., who will speak at the dedication Sunday.
"The city of Portland and all Americans should be extremely proud of this ship," Hunt said. "The visitors to this rare site should be appreciative of the combined community efforts to preserve these artifacts."
The USS Portland monument honors the ship and her men who were killed in action.
The Portland was launched from Quincy, Mass., in 1932. It was 610 feet long and equipped with 25 guns.
Affectionately known as "Sweet Pea" by its crew, the Portland was one the most active cruisers in the Pacific fleet, earning 16 battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation.
It was badly damaged by a torpedo and shell fire at Guadalcanal in November 1942. Eighteen men on board were killed.
The ship was repaired and saw action in Alaskan waters, the Philippines and Okinawa.
At war's end, the Portland accepted the surrender of all Japanese forces in the island garrisons at a ceremony at Truk in the Caroline Islands.
Forrestall, who died in 1999, was a naval reserve officer and executive with the Portland Lumber Co. when he read that the ship, which had been damaged in a hurricane, was scheduled to be scrapped.
In a petition to the Portland City Council, Forrestall wrote that the Portland had an impressive record and deserved a monument.
"What a crime it is that we have so much and do so little with it," he wrote.
He went to Panama City, Fla., and salvaged the mast and shield. They were transported to Portland on the State of Maine, the Maine Maritime Academy's training ship. The parts were later assembled at Fort Allen Park. The monument was dedicated on July 4, 1962.
The monument took on a broader role as a memorial to other World War II efforts in 2000, with the dedication of a plaque honoring the Arctic Campaign that supplied Russia with food and weapons during its fight against Nazi Germany.
Now the Seagoing Marines plaque will help keep memories alive, Adams said.
"That plaque will be there after the last veteran is gone," he said.
Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336 or at:
gkesich@pressherald.com
Ellie