“Come on Texas!”
The Battleship U.S.S. Texas will be on the move Wednesday, August 31, weather permitting. A livestream video of Texas getting under tow, August 31, will be available on the Battleship Texas Foundation YouTube channel and Facebook group page. Live updates on departure day will be posted at https://battleshiptexas.org/departure The largest preserved remnant of the Allies’ 1944 D-Day fleet, Texas will move under tow from her San Jacinto memorial berth on the Houston Ship Channel to Galveston to go into drydock for hull repair. The work in Galveston is a key milestone in the stem-to-stern, top-to-bottom overhaul of the 108-year-old battleship to 21st century historic preservation standards. Under way for several years already, the project draws on the talent, labor, and contributions of many, many volunteers, organizations, companies, and government. What this public-private partnership already has accomplished to revitalize this 27,000-ton National Historic Landmark is impressive and makes this further step forward truly exciting. Texas played a key part on Operation Overlord, from shepherding fast troop convoys across the North Atlantic to support from her 14-inch guns for the D-Day assaults on Point du hoc and Omaha Beach. Those feats, as recorded in Texas’ deck log, contributed a sailor’s perspective to Advocating Overlord. I gave a book talk aboard Texas in 2018. A privilege and great fun! From separate experience, I know firsthand the enormous work demanded to preserve historic machinery, massive but only one one-thousandth the weight of this battleship. That Texas was saved from scrapping and is with us today with a secure future is a great credit to the people of Texas. They have supported the ship’s preservation for over seven decades. Thank you, Texas.
Philip Padgett examines history by applying skills developed during 40 years of national security and preparedness research and analysis in the military, government, and the private sector. As Deputy Intelligence Adviser at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, he supported from Washington teams negotiating five international treaties and agreements. Read more >>