30-05-2025
Legislature approves $4 million to help move the USS Batfish
Efforts to move the USS Batfish to Three Forks Harbor got a $4 million boost from the Oklahoma Legislature.
The state Legislature approved the allocation and sent it to Gov. Kevin Stitt last week. The bill became law Thursday without the governor's signature, according to the Oklahoma State Legislature website.
"I'm really excited," said James Gulley, chairman of the Muskogee War Memorial Authority. "Sen. Frix, Rep. Hays, Rep. Sneed and Rep. Turner worked very hard and very diligently to ask for support from all the state legislators and say how important it is for the Batfish legacy to continue on. I'm real excited the state saw value in the Batfish and now we can start asking our federal legislators to help us."
The USS Batfish set a Navy record by sinking three enemy submarines in three days during World War II. It was moved to Muskogee in the 1970s and became a tourism landmark.
The submarine was uprooted from its moorings during the 2019 Arkansas River flood and must be moved to a new location.
Gulley said it will cost $10 million to move the Batfish downriver to its new location.
