[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S782-S783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            100TH ANNIVERSARY OF SINKING OF U.S.S. ``MAINE''

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, one hundred years ago this Sunday, 
February 15, a tragic event took place in Havana harbor which claimed 
the lives of 260 officers and crew and hurtled our nation into war. I 
rise today to remember the U.S.S. Maine on the 100th anniversary of her 
destruction, and to honor the memories of those brave men who died in 
service aboard that mighty ship.
  True to her namesake's motto, ``Dirigo'', or ``I Lead'', the Maine 
was one of the first surface combatants to be designated as a 
battleship. When she was commissioned in 1895 she was, at 319 feet in 
length, the largest ship ever built in a U.S. Navy shipyard. A state-
of-the-art vessel, the Maine was showcased in many ceremonial events 
and was the pride of the U.S. Navy.
  Then, on February 15, 1898, destiny called upon the U.S.S. Maine, her 
officers and her crew. On that night--a quiet and still evening by 
accounts from survivors--an explosion shattered the tranquility of 
Havana Harbor and tore through the Maine, blowing apart her berthing 
deck and hurling much of her starboard side into the water. After 
several smaller explosions in the ship's magazines, only 88 men 
remained among the living, and the United States and Spain were one 
giant step closer to war.
  Soon after the tragedy, eight more men died and in the weeks 
following six more deaths would be attributed to injuries suffered 
aboard the Maine. Initial Navy reports suspected a mine sank the Maine, 
but urged caution until further investigations could be conducted. The 
outrage surrounding the incident was taking on a life of its own, 
however, as papers throughout America reported to a stunned and 
outraged nation that the pride of our Navy had been destroyed by an 
enemy mine set in Havana Harbor with the sole and deadly purpose of 
sinking the Maine.
  On March 23, 1898, a Navy board officially concluded that it was, in 
fact, a mine that put the Maine on the bottom of Havana Harbor. By 
April, the infamous expression ``Remember the Maine'' became a rallying 
cry for a nation and by the end of that month, President McKinley had 
ordered a naval blockade which precipitated a formal declaration of war 
by the U.S. Congress against Spain.
  The Captain of the U.S.S. Maine, Captain Charles Sigsbee, who 
survived the tragedy, put the scope of the U.S.S. Maine disaster in 
perspective after the Spanish-American War ended. He said: ``During the 
recent war with Spain, about 75 men were killed and wounded in the 
United States Navy. Only 17 were killed. On board the Maine, 252 men 
were killed outright and eight died later--nearly fifteen times as many 
as were killed in the United States Navy by the Spanish land and naval 
forces during the entire war.''
  We may never know precisely why the Maine met her end that night one 
hundred years ago. Today, controversy still surrounds the original 
theory that it was a mine that sank her. Indeed, a 1976 report compiled 
by the order of Admiral Hyman Rickover concluded that it was an 
internal fire in a coal bunker next to the Maine's powder magazines 
that led to the fatal explosion. More recently, tests results reported 
in National Geographic magazine, based on a careful computer analysis 
of photographs of the twisted hull, proved inconclusive.
  While the means by which she met her end may always be a mystery, one 
thing is for certain: there will never be a debate about her place in 
history. And there will never be a debate about the bravery of those 
souls lost aboard the Maine in a flash of fire and chaos.
  That is why we remember the Maine. Captain Sigsbee, knowing of the 
controversy surrounding the cause of the explosion and its 
consequences, admonished us to recall the most honorable reason to 
remember her: ``In the way that the men of the Maine suffered there was 
enough of the heroic to provide a sound foundation for the motto, 
``Remember the Maine''.
  And so we do so today, and always. Remembrance events are scheduled 
to take place across the country: at Arlington Cemetery, in Bangor, 
Maine--where the shield and scroll of the ship rest today, in Central 
Park in New York City, in Key West, Florida, and at the Naval Academy 
in Annapolis, Maryland. Liz Henning, Midshipman at the Naval Academy, 
will likely be there: in the recent National Geographic story on the 
Maine, she was quoted as saying, ``We still think about those guys on 
the Maine * * * Navy people never forget''.
  Nor will Mainers ever forget. In Bangor, an appropriate memorial to 
the Maine reminds us of that fateful day one hundred years ago. In the 
Blaine House in Augusta--the Governor's residence--the silver soup 
tureen and vegetable dish from the original U.S.S. Maine, along with 
the loving cup, have been displayed for the past 70 years and have 
become one of our state's most unique treasures. The story of the 
recovery of these pieces from the bottom of the ocean in Havana Harbor 
has always brought a look of awe and amazement to the eyes of Maine's 
children, and it was always clear to me that these pieces are our 
living link to Maine's maritime heritage.
  And now, I am proud to say that the U.S. Postal Service will help 
keep the spirit of those lost on the Maine alive. Key West, Florida, 
one of the last ports of call for the U.S.S. Maine, and the place where 
many of the brave Americans who died aboard the Maine are buried, is 
the location for the First Day and City of Issue for the stamp. Key 
West will host a first-day ceremony and will use a distinctive First 
Day of Issue cancellation.
  I would like to thank Postmaster General Marvin Runyon for agreeing 
to my request for a special, limited advance release this weekend of 
the Postal Service stamp commemorating the centennial of the sinking of 
the Maine. The stamp will be distributed during the U.S.S. Maine 
Centennial observance in Bangor. Rather than the First Day of Issue 
cancellation, the stamps will be canceled with a special pictorial of 
the U.S.S. Maine designed in Bangor.

[[Page S783]]

  This and other centennial celebrations will ensure that the Maine 
will indeed not be forgotten--nor will those aboard who made the 
ultimate sacrifice. They answered the call when their country needed 
them, and we must honor their memories with our respect and 
remembrance. As a Mainer and a member of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee, I have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women 
who throughout history have risked their lives and invested their 
careers in our armed forces.
  In that light, let us keep their memory alive, and let us ensure that 
future generations will understand and appreciate the legacy of the 
U.S.S. Maine, and the tragic sacrifice of her gallant crew. Let us 
remember the Maine.

                          ____________________