BAY COUNTY, MI (WNEM) -
She's here! The 418-foot destroyer USS Edson arrived on time at the Wirt Stone Dock Tuesday morning in Essexville.
The destroyer will become the centerpiece of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship museum. Turning the USS Edson into a museum is expected to cost $1.4 million.
The USS Edson was led into the mouth of the Saginaw Bay at about 8:45 a.m. by the tugboat Colonel and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The destroyer left from Philadelphia on July 18 and will journey more than 2,400 miles before it reaches its permanent location near the Independence Park Boat Launch in Bangor Township.
The Edson was launched in 1958 and is recognized as a national historic landmark. Its first deployment was to the Western Pacific in January 1960. It was deployed to Vietnam three times.
A contract was signed in May transferring ownership from the Navy to the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum.
"She's finally here," said Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum President Mike Kegley.
As the sun rose Tuesday, a group of 10 veterans joined the crowd gathered to board the Princess Wenonah. The boat took passengers on a cruise down the Saginaw River to greet the Edson as the ship arrived at the temporary dock.
The veterans wore hats from the USS Blandy, the Edson's sister ship. The ships are nearly identical, said Robert Cassity of Morris, Ill., who served as a boiler man on the Blandy from 1968 to 1972.
"This is a reunion for those of us who served on the Blandy," Cassity said. "It's a chance to get together and reminisce. There are a lot of memories."
Online:
http://www.ussedson.org
Copyright 2012 WNEM (Meredith Corporation.) All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Viewer Photo
Wirt Docks are located at the end of Scheurman Street, near Woodside Avenue
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