Historic retired World War II Navy ship arrives in Houma for overhaul
At the Dulac-Pontoon Bridge about 30 well-wishers were gathered as the U.S.S. Kidd sliced northward, headed for a year-long overhaul in Houma, when an unexpected admirer provided the retired warship with its own greeting.
A bald eagle landed on a nearby utility pole, greeted the approaching vessel with two shrieks, then began its own repair task, preening its mahogany feathers as the tug-towed vessel continued on its course.
The Kidd, a 370-foot Fletcher-class destroyer, saw major action in WWII, was later deployed in the Korean War, and has been in Baton Rouge since 1982, where it serves as an integral component of its namesake veterans museum and memorial. The destroyer completed a 315-nautical-mile voyage Thursday from its Mississippi River berth to Houma’s Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors shipyard, where it will undergo an overhaul and restoration for almost a year.
Walter Thomassie, the marine firm’s managing director, said his team is excited about the prospect of working on the vessel, especially those who are veterans.
“We want to do the best we can to honor it,” said Thomassie, whose recent time on board the Kidd in Baton Rouge, as preparation for the job ahead, gave him a special perspective on the 300-man crews who called the vessel home during its 20 years of naval service.
“I have been up in the bowels of that vessel the past couple of weeks, and there’s a reason they are called America’s ‘greatest generation’” Thomassie said. “It’s tight, and it’s hot in there. They had to sleep three on top of each other. Some may have been 18- or 19-year-old boys, but they were men.”
Bill Purvis, Thoma-Sea’s conversion and repair manager, said the Mississippi’s constant rise and fall over four decades, pounding the Kidd’s hull against its steel subsurface cradle, is among the reasons the ship requires an overhaul. The exterior will be repainted with WWII camouflage, Purvis said. Craftsmen and technicians will perform restoration tasks, including returning the crew quarters to their original WWII configuration, undoing post-war modifications.
The timing of the Houma trip was crucial, because the river reached its high point this week, allowing transit. Its return to Baton Rouge will not occur until next spring, when the waters rise again. The Coast Guard did a full inspection of the Kidd before approving it for the tow.
Another Bayou Region company, Crosby Marine Transportation of Galliano, was entrusted with the task of getting the Kidd from Baton Rouge to Houma. Chief Executive Officer Kurt Crosby said two of the company’s tugs – one fore and the other aft of the Kidd – trekked down the Mississippi to the Southwest Pass, following that into the Gulf of Mexico before heading up from Terrebonne Bay to the Houma Nav, for the last leg of the journey. The Kidd, he said, could not come across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway – which would have been a shorter trip – because it was way too big to travel through the marine locks required for that route.
This trip, Crosby said, was hardly the company’s first time towing a large military vessel, up to and including an aircraft carrier.
“We towed the U.S.S. Ranger four or five years ago from Washington State to Brownsville, Texas, a 16,000-mile move that took five months,” Crosby said. “We have great captains and leaders on our vessels. They find a way to figure things out.”
The two veteran captains charged with seeing to it that the Kidd made it safely to Houma were Clint Babin at the 95.7-foot tug Crosby Integrity’s helm and Brent Savoie piloting the 66-foot tug Big Eddie. Another captain, Tony Verdin, joined the team with the tug Crosby Carrier, to ensure that there were no snags during some tricky Houma Nav turns.
U.S.S. Kidd Veterans Museum Director Parks Stephenson – himself a 20-year Navy veteran – said the overhaul is long overdue, and that this year funding sources from the state and elsewhere lined up, allowing it to happen.
“This is a once-in-a-generation overhaul,: Stephenson said "It is the biggest milestone in Kidd’s history since she was moved to Baton Rouge in 1982. There is not a whole lot of money out there for a non-profit museum ship. The Department of the Interior says museum ships must undergo overhaul every 10 to 20 years if they are in fresh water. The museum here was set up to honor all service branches. It’s part of our mission to honor the people who served their country. I have in mind those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”
At various points along the channel, spectators waved at the destroyer and the colorful “Capt. Kidd” logo on one of its smokestacks.
Near the Thomassie yard, about 25 people gathered.
“It’s hard to put into words … it’s emotional.” said Navy veteran Margaret Vargas. “It brings back memories.”
Will Theriot, president of Houma’s Regional Military Museum, was among people who followed the ship’s progress along the ship channel in their vehicles, stopping wherever they could catch a view.
“This is a historic event not only for Houma but for the whole United States,” said Theriot, whose organization has offered members of the U.S.S. Kidd Museum and Memorial’s staff who will be in Houma use of office space.
He joined the crowd gathered at Falgout Canal Road, where the pontoon bridge swung open to accommodate the Kidd and its towboat caretakers, which were escorted by Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol deputies, about 11 a.m.
“It’s important, it’s a part of history,” Bayou Dularge Volunteer Fire Department captain Chris Lowell said. That’s what prompted him to be there.
Like others at the location, Lowell marveled at the arrival of the bald eagle, as if eerily on cue, and videoed it with his phone.
“That eagle stayed there the whole time the ship passed,” he said.
Lowell was asked what the eagle’s presence during such a noteworthy event and significant moment meant to him.
“America,” he said.
Colin Campo contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Gonzales Weekly Citizen: USS Kidd arrives in Houma to repairs after voyage from Baton Rouge
