Friday, July 23, 2010

Help Save a Piece of History - the U.S.S. Mohawk CGC (WPG-78)

Ok guys I know this is not movie related, but it is something that I really care a lot about and thought I would share with you. The USS Mohawk is currently in Key West, Florida and it is a floating Museum full of history that we need to help save.

First of all let me tell you guys a little about the ship. This is taken from the ship's website:


The first ship that the museum purchased is the USS Mohawk CGC, built in in 1934 for the Coast Guard. The ship is 165 feet in length. The ship served in World War II and was involved in 14 attacks against Nazi Submarines on the Atlantic Ocean. She and her crew also saved many lives from the icy waters. The Mohawk is the last remaining ship of her kind and is the Memorial Ship of the "Battle of the Atlantic."


(Mohawk in 1942)

World War II ships that are retired, yet fully operational are rare to find these days and many have already been salvaged. This makes the USS Mohawk CGC a unique opportunity, as she is operational as well as affordable.

(Mohawk in 2007)



Before the end of 2010, we could possibly see the end of this beautiful ship if we don't help her. The Mohawk has not been dry docked in about 25 years and needs to be in order to maintain the hull and fix any holes or problems that are most definetly present. This would cost $500,000 dollars to do. If the Mohawk is not dry docked soon, she could either sink where she sits, or she will be sunk and used as an artificial reef which actually costs about $3,000,000 to do.

If the Mohawk gets saved, she could be used as a sunset cruise ship or take visitors for a 'living history' cruise. The Mohawk does indeed run and 350,000 gallons of diesel could actually keep her running for up to 8 years!

We need to help save this beautiful ship because it is the last ship of it's kind and could potentially become the only World War 2 ship that is fully operational all by itself.


The Mohawk has survived so many things through the years including torpedo attacks (Germans thought it was a destroyer and torpedoed the ship too deep and a torpedo went right under the hull of the ship), accidental friendly fire from the British, and a collision with an iceberg (which happened right after the Mohawk was the last ship to radio General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the day before the Normandy invasion confirming that the weather was going to be clear enough to proceed. With some help, the Mohawk can overcome yet another hard time with help from people who care about preserving a real piece of American history.

The Mohawk was also stationed in Cape May, New Jersey and Delaware for many years following the war.


If you would like to donate please visit http://ussmohawk.org/index.html




(Facing icy and snowy conditions in Greenland)




(Some of the crew on board in the icy Greenland. Sometimes the ice was so thick, they could not see out the windows)

(Ship Officers in 1942)



If we can band together to help Chile and Haiti, we can help preserve a piece of our own history!!!!!



AGAIN PLEASE VISIT http://ussmohawk.org/index.html AND DONATE TODAY TO SAVE THE USS MOHAWK CGC

1 comment:

  1. Hi

    I am Mitch and I am Co – Host to a scuba diving TV show called ScubaNation.

    I am working on one of our upcoming episodes that is about making the USS Mohawk into a Veterans Memorial Reef here in Florida. I was there when they prepped her and sank her. I also have dove on her already and I can tell you, she is sitting very pretty on her new home. There is already a lot of life on her which is not typical so soon after a sinking of a new wreck.

    I saw that you have some vintage stills of the Mohawk and her crew. May I use them for the show. Ill be happy to credit the person who took the shots.

    I will need higher resolution for some of them.

    Please let me know as soon as you can.

    THX Mitch
    bm@scubanation.com

    ReplyDelete