My mom’s dad, Pop-Pop to me, was born in 1898. He died when I was 7 so I don’t remember him very well, although I was extremely close to my nana until her own death, 25 years after her husband’s passing. When she died, her memorabilia, including photos, was handed down to me. In the trove of treasures was a small plastic box containing my pop-pop’s military medals. He was in the Marines from 1918-1922, serving during World War I. In an envelope separate from the others was an 8” x 10” picture of his unit aboard the USS Pennsylvania. We were able to identify him amongst the 63 Marines in the photo, editing a copy to show just his face. Framing them both, every summer I display the case I purchased to contain his medals, the two photos plus the American flag presented to my nana at his funeral. As I was dusting the arrangement one day, it struck me to research the USS Pennsylvania. There is a lot of information which I will spare you, but then I saw this:
“After being used as a target ship for the atomic bomb tests of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, the USS Pennsylvania was decommissioned on August 29, 1946 and on February 10, 1948, she was sunk just off the Marshall Islands.”
And then:
“The ship’s bell is on display at Pennsylvania State University outside the main entrance of the Wagner Building, home of the university’s ROTC programs. It has been on permanent loan to the university from the Department of the Navy since 1955.”
AND . . .
“Two of the ship’s 14-inch guns that had been replaced during the 1945 overhaul are on outdoor display at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.”
Both locations are three hours away from my home.
At Penn State, I placed my hand on the bell despite the sign saying not to. I am visually impaired, officer.
As luck would have it, the guns outside the military museum were off their normal elevated base. Low to the ground, I was able to reach over the makeshift fence and touch one of the guns.
The bell and guns were both witness to a young man on rough seas during a war. Eleven years after leaving the military, this Marine would become a father when my mom was born. Thirty-two past that, I would enter the world. Would he think it crazy of me to seek out parts of a battleship he once inhabited with 71 other Marines, 56 officers and 1,031 enlisted men? Or would he be happy that a hundred years later, I sought out a piece of him? He was a very quiet man, but I think it would please him. For his granddaughter, it was a thrill.
Thank you for your service, Pop-Pop. My innate love of this country, as well as the great appreciation I feel for our military came from somewhere. I believe that I found it, and you, 200 miles from home. Oorah!
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #worldwari #usspennsylvania #pennstateuniversityrotc #pennsylvaniamilitarymuseum #oorahpoppop
