USS Edson

USS ''Edson'' (DD-946) is a , formerly of the United States Navy, built by Bath Iron Works in Maine in 1958. Her home port was Long Beach, California and she initially served in the Western Pacific/Far East, operating particularly in the Taiwan Strait and off the coast of Vietnam. Her exceptionally meritorious service in 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin was recognized with the first of three Navy Unit Commendations. During the following years she was shelled by North Vietnamese land forces, and apparently received friendly fire from the US Air Force.

Following an onboard fire in 1974, ''Edson'' returned to the West Pacific and was later commended for her roles in the evacuation of Phnom Penh and Saigon.

She was decommissioned in 1988, but the following year became a museum ship at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York. Returning to Navy lay-up in 2004, it was agreed in 2012 that she should again become a museum ship, at Bay City, Michigan. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of only two surviving ''Forrest Sherman''-class destroyers.

Commissioning and initial service

USS ''Edson'' was named for Major General Merritt "Red Mike" Edson USMC (1897–1955), who was awarded the Medal of Honor (while serving as Commanding Officer of the First Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal) and the Navy Cross and Silver Star for other actions in World War II.

''Edson'' was laid down on 3 December 1956 by Bath Iron Works Corporation and launched on 4 January 1958, sponsored by Mrs. M. A. Edson, widow of General Edson; and commissioned on 7 November 1958.

''Edson'' called at Ciudad Trujillo and Caribbean ports while conducting shakedown training en route to Callao, Peru, where she lay from 18–21 February 1959 delivering supplies for the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru. She reached Naval Station Long Beach, California, her home port, on 2 March, and through the remainder of the year perfected her readiness with exercises along the west coast. On 5 January 1960, she sailed from Long Beach for her first deployment in the Far East, during which she patrolled in the Taiwan Straits and took part in amphibious operations off Okinawa, and exercises of various types off Japan. On 29 April, she rescued three aviators from , whose A-3D aircraft crash landed in the ocean. ''Edson'' returned to Long Beach on 31 May for an overhaul which continued through October. ''Edson'' spent the remainder of 1960 conducting training off San Diego.

WESTPAC deployments

In June 1961 ''Edson'', together with the other ships of DESDIV 231, sailed to Portland, Oregon, to represent the U.S. Navy at the annual Rose Festival. On 11 August 1961, ''Edson'' sailed from Long Beach harbor to start her second WESTPAC deployment. She spent three months in operations with the attack carriers USS ''Ranger'' and USS ''Ticonderoga'' and spent the month of December patrolling the straits between Taiwan and the mainland of Communist China.

On Friday, 13 March 1964, ''Edson'' departed for her third WESTPAC deployment. After the transit, ''Edson'' began duties with the Taiwan Patrol Force, CTF 72. The end of May and the months of June and July 1964 were filled with carrier operations, Gunfire Support Training in the Philippines, and operation LICTAS, a joint SEATO operation off the coast of the Philippines. August found ''Edson'' in the Gulf of Tonkin on special operations. It was here she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in support of operations in the Gulf of Tonkin during the period 2–5 August 1964. On her fifth deployment in 1967, she received a hit from a North Vietnamese shore battery while providing a naval gunfire support mission.

''Edson'' served as plane guard for aircraft carriers on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in Sea Dragon operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties, and carried out Naval Gunfire Support missions during the Vietnam War. On 17 June 1968 she apparently took friendly fire from the US Air Force, along with several other U.S. and Australian ships.

On 12 December 1974, ''Edson'' suffered a fire in the after fireroom while training with . The fire was caused by the ignition of oil which was spraying from a rupture in a lube oil gauge line. The area was secured and fire extinguished with no personnel casualties.

In January 1975, after repairs in Hawaii, ''Edson'' continued on to WESTPAC and in April she participated in Operation Eagle Pull (evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia) and Operation Frequent Wind (evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam), earning two Meritorious Unit Commendations.

''Edson'' was decommissioned on 15 December 1988, and towed to the Philadelphia Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility for storage. At the time of her decommissioning, she was the last all-gun destroyer in the United States Navy.

Museum

''Edson'' served as a museum ship at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City from 30 June 1989 to 14 June 2004 when it was replaced by a Concorde airliner. The ship was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990.

In 2004 the ship was towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where hull repairs were completed, and then towed back to the Philadelphia Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility for storage. The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum at Bay City, Michigan, and the Wisconsin Naval Ship Association at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, both submitted applications to the Naval Sea Systems Command to relocate ''Edson'' and reinstate her as a museum ship in their respective locations. The Bay City proposal was successful.

The Navy declared USS ''Edson'' seaworthy on 17 July 2012 and it was cleared to begin its journey to Michigan on 18 July with arrival at the museum site on 7 August 2012. After roughly a year at a temporary mooring at Wirt Stone docks, she was floated up the Saginaw river to her permanent mooring site, and on Tuesday, 7 May 2013 at 15:01 hours, USS ''Edson'' arrived at her permanent mooring site in Bangor Township, Michigan, at .

See also

*List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Bay County, Michigan
*The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episode " The Thirty-Fathom Grave" in which the ship makes appearances

References

*

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Edson''



USS ''Edson'' DD946 Association

Wisconsin Naval Ship Association Inc.

Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edson (DD-946)
Forrest Sherman-class destroyers
Cold War destroyers of the United States
Vietnam War destroyers of the United States
Museum ships in Michigan
National Historic Landmarks in Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
1958 ships
Military and war museums in Michigan
Naval museums in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Bay County, Michigan