PAUL F. FOSTER’S NEXT ASSIGNMENT

Saving a legendary warship for posterity

NAVAL MUSEUM

…the only one still floating

USS Spruance – disposed of in Fleet support training exercise

USS Radford– disposed of as artificial reef on 10 August 2011 off coast of Delaware

USS Fletcher & Fife – disposed of in Fleet support training exercise

One of these things is not like the other

Spruance Class status: DD 963-968• Spruance DD-963 Disposed of in support of

Fleet training exercise• Paul F. Foster DD-964 Active, in service

as EDD-964• Kinkaid DD-965 Disposed of in support of Fleet

training exercise• Hewitt DD-966 Disposed of by scrapping,

dismantling• Elliot DD-967 Disposed of in support of Fleet

training exercise• Arthur W. Radford DD-968 Disposed of as

artificial reef on 10 August 2011 off coast of Delaware

Spruance Class status: DD 969-977• Peterson DD-969 Disposed• Caron DD-970 Disposed • David R. Ray DD-971 Disposed• Oldendorf DD-972 Disposed• John Young DD-973 Disposed• Comte de Grasse DD-974 Disposed• O’Brien DD-975 Disposed• Merrill DD-976 Disposed• Briscoe DD-977 Disposed

Spruance Class status: DD 978-986• Stump DD-978 Disposed• Connolly DD-979 Disposed • Moosbrugger DD-980 Disposed• John Hancock DD-981 Disposed• Nicholson DD-982 Disposed• John Rogers DD-983 Disposed• Leftwich DD-984 Disposed• Cushing DD-985 Disposed• Harry W. Hill DD-986 Disposed

Spruance Class status: DD 987-997• O’Bannon DD-987 Disposed • Thorn DD-988 Disposed• Deyo DD-989 Disposed• Ingersoll DD-990 Disposed• Fife DD-991 Disposed• Fletcher DD-992 Disposed• Hayler DD-997 Disposed

NAVSEA donated 48 ships, including these destroyers:

Hull # Ship Class Location

DD 537 The Sullivans Fletcher Buffalo, NY

DD 661 Kidd Fletcher Baton Rouge, LA

DD 724 Laffey Sumner Mt. Pleasant, SC

DD 793 Cassin Young Fletcher Boston, MA

DD 850 J.P. Kennedy Jr. Gearing Fall River, MA

DD 951 Turner Joy Sherman Bremerton, WA

DD963 Spruance TBD

Every destroyer ship class represented from 1941 to 1972 except Spruance

Navy’s plan for Paul F. Foster Remain at Port Hueneme, CA Continue as Self Defense Test Ship

(SDTS) EDD 964 for the next 9-10 years 2021 and beyond – unknown Eventually will be stricken from service Donation candidate

Possible Meets some criteria

NAVSEA Ship Donation Criteria Awarded Presidential Unit Citation Heroic act onboard President assigned to ship during service First to incorporate engineering, weapon

systems or other revolutionary upgrades Historic event

NAVSEA Ship Donation Criteria

Donation: Three-phase process 1 – Letter of Intent (Board seeking

Association concurrence this weekend) and Executive Summary (assigned committee of volunteers)

2 – Submit Business, Financial and Environmental plans. Due within one year after Navy accepts Phase 1 Letter.

3 – Applications for Towing, Mooring, Maintenance, Curatorial/Museum Management Plan within six months after Phase 2 acceptance.

Donation timeline

2012 April – Association’s endorsement, establish

committee Summer – Visit USS IOWA, continue research

2013-2021– Fundraising, location search 2014 – Donation update @ Reunion 2018 – Submit Letter of Intent to NAVSEA 2019 – Submit Plans: Business, $$,

Environmental 2020 – Submit Towing, Mooring, Maintenance,

Curatorial/Museum Management Plan

USS MISSOURI at Ford Island

USS IOWA

The Pacific Battleship Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2009.  The organization was awarded custody of USS IOWA BB-61 on September 6, 2011 for display as a museum and educational attraction at Port of Los Angeles Berth 87.

Possible PFF Association partner USS IOWA – Association moving BB61 to

permanent display July 2012 Ongoing discussions regarding the process Shared Lessons Learned & three key steps:

Financial backing ($22 million for IOWA) Location (berth/community willing to host) Per NAVSEA requirement: A not-for-profit

organization or community, an active leadership plus staff to operate and maintain the ship.

A destroyer like no other

We can save the LAST of the Class