Photo by CTP roving photographer Pat Dooley shows
the USS Cooperstown docked just west of the football stadium
in downtown Cleveland
CLEVELAND (Tribune News Service)
— A warship made its way into the Port of Cleveland on Wednesday,
but it came in peace and paying homage to some of baseball’s all-time greats.
The USS Cooperstown, built
in Marinette, Wis., for the U.S. Navy, was christened earlier this
year and is now on its way to Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville,
Fla., where it will be commissioned.
Its first port of call is
Cleveland, where the ship can take on fuel, replace stores and give the crew a
little shore leave, said Lt. Brandon Carnes, the ship’s electronic
materials officer.
The USS Cooperstown is a littoral
combat ship, and the Cooperstown is very fast and agile. Its low draft allows
it to operate in shallow water, Carnes said. It’s the 23rd of its kind built by
the Navy. The ships are primarily being used for drug interdiction in
the Caribbean.
. . .
But the USS Cooperstown also is a
floating museum. It was named for the town in New York where
the National Baseball Hall of Fame is located. And that has led to
some interesting décor inside the ship.
Seventy members of
the National Baseball Hall of Fame who also served in the military
are honored with copies of their induction plaques on display, Carnes said.
The plaques are found in the
stateroom and berthing areas, Carnes said, although the plaque for Cleveland
Indians great Bob Feller, who served as a Navy chief petty
officer in the Pacific during World War II, is on the door of the chief petty
officers’ mess.
During the USS Cooperstown’s stay
in Cleveland — Carnes declined to say exactly when the ship plans to shove off
but that it won’t be around next week — the crew will have the chance to see
the town.
Stripes source is here.
It’s likely the ship will be in port today and tomorrow.
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