All Went Well At Bath Iron Works—We Now Have the USS Jason Dunham

In my post yesterday ( “A Great Navy Tradition On Display at Bath Iron Works Tomorrow, August 1), I wrote that, today, at the Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine, the Navy planned to christen its newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, named after Medal of Honor recipient Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.

Scanning for news reports on the christening ceremony this morning, I searched the New York Times files for “Bath Iron Works.”

To my shock, the very first entry that popped up carried the headline: “BATH IRON WORKS DESTROYED.; Fire Swept Through the Various Shops …”

How could this be? None of the TV news channels had mentioned anything about this. This was very big and very bad news, especially since the christening ceremony had been much anticipated, and many dignitaries, including Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y. were to be in attendance. Not to mention the disastrous economic consequences.

Then, I read the rest of the entry that said, “The statement of Treasurer Hyde of the Bath Iron Works that the company will not rebuild at Bath probably means that the new works will be erected at …”

The excerpt was immediately followed by the date: February 14, 1894.

Considerably relieved, my next impulse was to learn more about this fire.

When I clicked on the Times link, I was taken to a PDF in old (1894) type, confirming some details of the fire:

Fire started at 2:20 o’clock this morning in the joiners’ shop of the Bath Iron Works, and in a few hours a large portion of the works was destroyed.

Treasurer Hyde thinks it is doubtful if the company will rebuild here

The statement…probably means that the new company will be erected at New London, Conn.

Well, Treasurer Hyde, bless his soul, was wrong.

He had not counted on the resilience of the company and of its management.

A July 8, 2007, article in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday telegram sums it up quite well:

A devastating fire, bankruptcy proceedings and strikes have crippled Bath Iron Works at various times during its 123-year history of building ships on the banks of the Kennebec River. But after each setback, the shipyard has recovered, demonstrating a resiliency that gives many current employees optimism amid the challenges that lie ahead.

And so, today, the christening of the USS Jason Dunham went according to plan at the Bath Iron Works.

According to the Military Times:

Debra Dunham [Cpl. Jason Dunham's mother] swung true with her silver bottle of champagne, cracking it against the bulbous sonar dome on the bow of the Navy destroyer that bears the name of her son. With its traditional alcoholic bath, the hull known as DDG 109 took its real name: “Jason Dunham.”

[..]

“Today we are reminded that freedom is not free — it comes at a terrible price,” said Rear Adm. Bill Landay, the Navy’s program executive officer for ships. In remarks by Landay and other speakers…the ceremony was as much a memorial for Dunham as it was a ceremony to give his name to the Navy destroyer that towered on its supports over the audience.

When the speeches were finished, Debra Dunham walked onto a small platform set just ahead of the destroyer’s sonar dome, which had been equipped with a narrow striking bar to ensure a good crack of her champagne bottle. She made no remarks other than the traditional, “I christen you Jason Dunham.”…The crowd applauded; colorful streamers rained down.

According to the article, the destroyer Dunham still has several months of work in the shipyard and then more trials and work-ups before the ship is commissioned into the fleet.

Representative Massa, whose district includes the Dunham family’s home town of Scio, N.Y., said that when the Jason Dunham is finally seaworthy, it “will sail the oceans on the wings of an angel, which will return the ship home, always.”

As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story.”