|
|
| |
as printed in the Winter 2009 Mari-Times
(Volume 17, Issue 1) |
You’re in the Army Now!
Tug John Purves Joins the Fleet of Historic Naval Ships
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the onset of World War II, many found themselves answering their Nation’s call to duty. So it was with the tug John Purves (then named Butterfield). Trading her civilian paint scheme for a fresh coat of haze grey, she soon found machine guns added to her deck gear. Military orders issued, she headed for the West Coast in the service of the United States Army as LT-145.
.
|
|
|
|
Assigned the challenging mission of supplying Army garrisons in the Aleutian Islands, LT-145 served valiantly from 1942-1945.
Having sailed the waters around the Aleutians, I can personally attest to the fact that just getting to and from these rugged little island safely is an accomplishment in itself. Add a determined enemy and the challenges of towing a barge in open-ocean and it is astounding that LT-145 (a.k.a. John Purves) is still with us! |
|
At war’s end, LT-145 joined countless other veterans of WWII and returned to her civilian life, completing a long and distinguished career on the waters of Great Lakes before becoming our museum ship.
|
|
The Purves’ war-time service makes the Door County Maritime Museum eligible for “Fleet Membership” in the Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA). Established in 1966, the HNSA provides a forum that enables and encourages organizations managing naval museum ships to exchange ideas, discuss problems, and provide mutual support for each other. It has grown into a global institution and has come to be regarded informally as “the world’s third largest navy.” At the beginning of 2008, fleet members represented twelve nations, 115 organizations, and 175 vessels of all types. |
|
|
|
Our application for membership was accepted, and so the tug John Purves recently joined other naval museum ships on The Historic Naval Ship Association website. The Museum and the Purves will also be featured in the upcoming edition of the HNSA’s newsletter Anchor Watch. We believe the Museum’s affiliation with the HNSA will bring even more “boat nerds” to tour our wonderful museum ship.
|
|
|
|
|
We were also able to garner the services of graphic artist Doug O’Dell to create an image of John Purves with her war-time LT-145 persona “ghosted” in her reflection. Mr. O’Dell is a Coast Guard veteran and President of the Coast Guard Tug Association (www.cg-tugs.org). He graciously donated his time and talents to create the image.
We recently included the new image on the cover of our annual “Anchor Appeal” brochure and hope to make even greater use of this dramatic depiction in the future. |
|
We also hope to include more on the fascinating history of the tug John Purves in future editions of the Mari-Times!
|
|
-Bob Desh, Executive Director
|
|
|
