The recent history of the USS ORLECK began in 2000, when this "Top Gun," "Gray Ghost of the Vietnam Coast," and charter member of the "Trainbuster's Club" in the Korean conflict was returned from Turkey to her birthplace of Orange, Texas, where she had been launched some 55 years earlier, on May 12, 1945. This launch date was within a week of Germany's surrender, while our battle with Japan still raged before the surrender in August. The ORLECK's return to Orange was made possible when the Turkish Navy donated the Ship to the newly-formed Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation, to be established as a museum in Orange. The towing of the trip from Turkey was financed by a loan that was secured by funds deposited by the City of Orange in support of this noble project. Between her return to Orange in 2000 and the arrival of Hurricane Rita on September 25, 2005, the Foundation made great strides in the restoration of the Ship, which was soon opened to the public for regular tours and special events, including celebrations on the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, as well as the hosting of a large reunion of ORLECK sailors and their families in October 2002 (the arrival of Hurricane Lili in the middle of the reunion did not deter them). The Foundation and the Ship were well supported by the membership of the Destroyer USS ORLECK Association, which provided crucial funds and manpower toward her restoration. All was well with the Ship until Hurricane Rita made a near direct-hit on Orange, Texas, on September 24, 2005. The Ship would have weathered the storm unscathed, if two barges from a nearby Shipyard had not broken free of their moorings, hit the Ship, and broken her mooring lines. When the storm passed, the Ship was found hastily tied to a tree, with both barges resting against her, and three holes in her hull. The Shipyard whose barges had damaged the Ship offered to tow her the short distance to the Shipyard and effect repairs, but after the Ship was relocated, insurance companies and lawyers descended, and the Shipyard filed a preemptive federal lawsuit to be exonerated from all liability for damaging the ORLECK and other property destroyed by its barges. Protracted litigation ensured, but ultimately the Shipyard repaired the damage its barges had done, and paid the Foundation a reasonable sum to avoid further litigation and trial over the full damages sustained by the Ship. While the Foundation's coffers were partially refilled by the settlement, the ORLECK had lost her berth in Orange, and was forced to relocate to a commercial berth on a nearby island in the Sabine River. The island was then sold to a new owner with plans to develop the island for building drilling rigs. Even with substantial funds on hand, the ORLECK was facing eviction, with no place to go. The situation became increasingly desperate in February 2008, as the island's owner reluctantly insisted that the Ship be moved to avoid costly delay in commercial development of the island. Ever since Hurricane Rita, many ORLECK supporters new and old had undertaken dogged efforts to locate a new home for the Ship. Extensive discussions ensued with North Little Rock, Arkansas, Lake Charles and Westlake, Louisiana, Port Neches and Texas City, Texas, and many other cities, with no immediate success. With eviction, seizure, and even scrapping of the ORLECK seeming almost inevitable, an S.O.S. was issued. Suddenly, new players emerged with knowledge, expertise, ideas, and connections, and it began to seem possible that the Foundation's funds could be husbanded to both settle the tow loan (its only outstanding liability, and a considerable one), and relocate the Ship to North Little Rock's Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum ("AIMM"), which is known to be a very professionally-run operation currently displaying the WWII submarine USS RAZORBACK and in the process of obtaining the tug USS HOGA, which served with great distinction at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. From the outset, the proposed relocation of the ORLECK to AIMM in North Little Rock (which has been discussed off and on ever since Rita) has faced several hurdles, all revolving around the deep draft of the Ship and the relatively shallow waters of the Arkansas River. Can the ORLECK make the long journey to AIMM, down the Sabine River, across the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi, to the junction with Arkansas River, and then to North Little Rock? Because of the relatively shallow river levels in the Arkansas River system, this journey will involve removal of the propellers (which extend below the keel) and the sonar dome (which adds over six feet to the draft at the bow of the Ship), AND temporary removal of the forward mast and radar assemblies, the top of the forward stack, and part of the aft mast, to clear bridges along the Arkansas River. Can all this be done within a limited budget, and will the mighty Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers cooperate by giving the Ship enough depth to clear the bottom, but not so much that it cannot clear the bridges? Can the huge bronze propellers be sold for their valuable bronze to help bridge the gap between our remaining bank balance and the cost of this journey? And what about the insurance claim for damage the Ship sustained in December 2007 when a strong storm pushed so much water out of the Sabine River that the Ship grounded and sustained some damage and flooding (the source of the flooding has been stopped securely, but the flooding and related damage still needs to be attended to by the insurance company)? With all these uncertainties, on March 6, 2008, the Foundation plunged ahead and had the mighty ORLECK towed from Livingston Island to the Shipyard of CBH Services, Inc., in Orange, for commencement of underwater and superstructure removals. CBH was proud and happy to undertake this project, as was Tiburon Divers, a company that has long helped the Foundation keep an eye on the underwater side of the ORLECK. Parker Diving out of Long Beach, California, was retained to consult based on its expertise in the removal of sonar domes from GEARING Class destroyers. Phones were ringing and e-mails were zinging all over the Country! The ORLECK is on the move! The long period of waiting is at an end! Underwater worked commenced soon after the Ship's arrival at CBH, with a team of divers from Tiburon's Houston operation arriving to begin removal of the screws and dome. As of this writing, March 25, 2008, the port screw has been removed and placed on the dock, and the starboard screw has been cut free and is resting on the river bottom, awaiting crane time for placement on the dock. Arrangements have been made to sell the screws to raise funds. The divers are cutting free a protective fairing around the bolts that hold the sonar dome to the bottom of the ship. It is hoped that both the dome and the starboard screw will be on the dock by the end of this week, which will result in the ship's draft being drastically reduced, from approximately twenty feet, to less than thirteen feet. The divers' work has been more difficult, and therefore more expensive, than planned and hoped for. CBH has been assisting the divers and doing other work to repair and prepare the ship for movement, but superstructure removals have not begun yet. Once the underwater removals are complete, the Foundation will tally its remaining funds (including funds expected to be raised by sale of the bronze screws, and any insurance recovery), consider the probable cost of superstructure removals, and assess the state of the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers (currently at very high and fast flood stages) and determine whether the trip to North Little Rock is both technically feasible and affordable. We are lucky to have offered to us a temporary berth near the junction of the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers (at Rosedale, Mississippi), which may prove crucial in allowing us to wait a short while for optimum river conditions for the final leg of the journey up the Arkansas. The Foundation is extremely hopeful and optimistic about the Ship reaching AIMM in North Little Rock. Hurdles remain, particularly money and river levels, but we are determined to give maximum effort toward this goal. There are potential fallback options, but AIMM is the goal. Tax deductible donations to this 501(c)(3) Foundation will be much appreciated and should be mailed to: Steve Phillips, President, Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 3005, Orange, TX 77631-3005. For further information contact Steve Phillips, e-mail stretch@gte.net, or Evan Caffrey, e-mail ecaffrey@bakerdonelson.com. Evan T. Caffrey |