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Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Navy Night begins city's Memorial Day weekend
May 27—By HEATH HARRISON The Ironton Tribune A gap in the rainy weather on Thursday timed out perfectly so that the annual Navy Night ceremony on the city's riverfront could take place. As Ironton Mayor Sam Cramblit II pointed out, the event is the first public memorial service for Ironton's busy weekend of events around the holiday, which concludes with the annual Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade, the longest continuous observance of its kind in the nation. The event began with an invocation from Chad Pemberton and the posting of the colors from Ironton VFW Post 8850. In addition to the VFW, others returning for their yearly duties in the ceremony were the brass ensemble from Rock Hill High School, as well as Scout Troop 106, of Ironton. The Scouts conducted a flag folding ceremony, under the direction of Dave Lucas, and their bugler played "Taps." Cramblit then read a proclamation proclaiming Thursday as Navy Night in the City of Ironton. The keynote speaker for this year was LCDR Sean Dulaney, of the U.S. Navy Reserve Center in Eleanor, West Virginia. Dulaney noted the history of Ironton, with regards to the Navy. He pointed out that steel from the city's then-booming iron industry was used in the USS Monitor, the U.S. Navy's first ironclad ship, which famously battled the Confederate ship Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) during the Civil War. Following Dulaney's remarks, the Scouts carried a memorial wreath to the riverfront, where it was placed in the Ohio's waters. The event, which drew dozens to the river, was hosted by the parade committee and featured grand marshal Ray Jones and parade commander Lou Pyles, while retired Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Charles Cooper returned as master of ceremonies. You Might Like News Ashland woman killed in UTV accident News A tradition of honor (WITH GALLERY) News Telling our story News This year's leaders (WITH GALLERY)
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Turret of USS Monitor visible at Mariners' Museum
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Hampton Roads has a rich history, and there's no more memorable battle than the one between the Monitor and the Merrimac. The turret of the USS Monitor is in the middle of preservation, and has been in a tank for several years. Visitors receive rare chance to view historic USS Monitor turret at Mariners' Museum and Park It's a tight squeeze, but take a look inside a tank that sits a piece of Naval history, as 10 On Your Side got a special look inside the Civil War battleship. 'The Monitor story really is a Hampton Roads story,' said Will Hoffman of the Mariners' Museum. 'It's a story of technology. The story of the Navy is a story of shipbuilding. It's a story of people.' The turret sits upside down inside the tank that's normally filled with a solution meant to help preserve it. 'We're draining it to do some visual inspection of the turret and shifting around some artifact,' Hoffman said. 'And we're really draining it to clean the clutch chemical system that's on the surface of the object.' Launched out of New York in January 1862, it fought the CSS Virginia to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads in March of that same year. Later in December, while in tow, it sank in rough waters, 16 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. While the ship didn't have a long life, it left an impact that's still being felt today. 'That turret is the first turret that fought in combat in world history,' Hoffman said. 'Every turret on a ship, you know, from gun battleships all the way through now with autonomous lidar you see on modern ships, all that comes from the turret that's sitting in that tank behind me. … This is an actual artillery shot from the battle of Hampton Roads.' Through 3D imaging done in 2016, they can tell where every dent and ding came from, and which battle it came from. Some are in old photos of the ship. 'These dents are those dents up there,' Hoffman said. The hope one day is to flip that turret right-side up. 'That's our next big phase of the tour is turning it over,' Hoffman said, 'so that that can set the stage, ultimately, to finish the object and get it out on display.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Visitors receive rare chance to view historic USS Monitor turret at Mariners' Museum and Park
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – For the first time in six years, the USS Monitor's turret tank is being drained, allowing visitors the opportunity to view the usually hidden turret. The turret is being drained through March 8 as part of conservation efforts at the Mariners' Museum and Park, allowing visitors an up close unobstructed view of the historical artifact. The 115-ton revolving gun turret was the first of its kind to be used in combat, representing a major technological advancement for the navy. The USS Monitor then spent almost 140 years off the coast of Cape Hatteras after being sunk in 1862 during a storm. Eventually in 1973, the wreckage was discovered, and in 1975 was designated as the nation's first National Marine Sanctuary under NOAA, who, in 1987, selected the Mariners' Museum and Park to be the principal repository for the warship. The turret was not discovered until August of 2002, where it was then brought to the museum, where conservation efforts still persist to this day. As part of the conservation effort, the turret is periodically submerged in 90,000 gallons of alkaline solution. During the draining process this week, the conservation team will work to inspect the turret in the hopes of creating a planning process to flip the turret, which has been upside down since its discovery in 2002. 'Every time we drain the tank, the turret remains as impressive as the first time I saw it,' Mariners' Director of Conservation Will Hoffman said. 'To be able to see its scale and know the impact that it had on world history makes being part of its conservation and preservation both extremely rewarding and humbling.' According to museum staff, the best time to view the historic artifact will be on March 8 during the Mariners' annual Battle of Hampton Roads Commemoration Day, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Continue to check for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
