[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 42 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        USS BATTLESHIP ``TEXAS'' CELEBRATES 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                        Thursday, March 13, 2014

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, fittingly titled after the Lone Star 
State, the USS Texas was the most powerful warship the world had seen. 
Commissioned on March 12, 1914, she participated in the most important 
battles of the first half of the Twentieth Century, spanning both World 
Wars and including the invasion of North Africa, Normandy, Iwo Jima and 
Okinawa. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the commissioning of 
this important Battleship named after our great state.
  To commemorate her 100th anniversary, the Battleship Texas Foundation 
along with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are throwing a 
Texas-sized celebration for the Battleship on March 15, 2014 in La 
Porte at the San Jacinto Battleground Park. The all day festival will 
feature live music, food, fireworks, and activities for children as 
well as tours of the battleship. This month, don't pass up a great 
opportunity to go aboard and get a firsthand look of the last of the 
great Dreadnought battleships.
  As a kid growing up in Spring Branch, I always looked forward to the 
long days of the hot Houston summers. Long days meant more time to play 
outside. I didn't know that summers in the other parts of the world 
were not steamy like here in Houston. (I now those from up north that 
Houston has two seasons: Summer and August.) Like most kids in the 
neighborhood, my sister and I played outdoors a good portion of the day 
and didn't come in til dark. We knew when the porch light came on, we 
had to be home within five minutes of seeing the ``beacon'' or there 
would be consequences. Occasionally, we got to take summer excursions 
with the family to the battlegrounds, the Monument and of course the 
Battleship Texas. That is where my love for the USS Texas began.
  As kids, we thought it was ``cool'' that Texas had its own 
Battleship. We would pretend to shoot the guns on the ship, run through 
the countless corridors, nooks and crannies, climb the ladders as far 
as was allowed and reenact battles on the great battlewagon. My best 
friend Pete Cliburn and I would climb from top to bottom of the 
``Mighty T,'' firing every gun and squeezing down every port hole along 
the way. We explored and climbed the ladders to the upper decks as high 
as we could go. When you reached the top of the ladder of the highest 
point, you better remember that the metal deck you were about to lay 
your forearms on was as hot as a cast iron skillet! But, as kids we 
couldn't care less; we were fighting on the greatest battleship to have 
ever sailed.
  As I grew older, my fondness for the USS Texas remained, and I 
learned more about the amazing legacy of BB 35. Her most notable 
contributions came in WWII, firing at Nazi defenses during the D-Day 
invasion at Normandy. Called the ``smartest man o'war afloat,'' the 
Texas was an integral part of many US victories.
  As the flagship of the US fleet, the Texas was the first of her kind 
to mount anti-aircraft guns, to use the first commercial radar, to 
launch an aircraft and to lay claim to the First Marine Division in 
1941. At the end of the War, she made three trips bringing American 
servicemen home.
  On April 21, 1948, the Texas was decommissioned and her place in 
history took root right here in our backyard. School children across 
Texas saved their nickels to help pay to dry dock the Battleship at the 
site of the Battlegrounds on the San Jacinto River. As a kid, it was 
obvious to me why General Sam routed Santa Anna--we had a battleship! 
It took me awhile to figure out that the Texas Revolution was in the 
1800s, and the Battleship Texas was used in the 1900s. After all they 
retired her on San Jacinto Day. While that all made perfectly good 
sense back then, my love for Texas history in the years to come taught 
me that they were not one in the same, and General Sam's 
accomplishments became far more impressive.
  Texas still has an ``Honorary'' Texas Navy. In the 1980s, the 
Governor of Texas appointed me as an Admiral in the Texas Navy. 
(Everyone in the Navy is an Admiral.) During my tenure as a judge, the 
``Mighty T'' found its way back into my life, and the lives of 
offenders I ordered to be ``enlisted'' into the ``Texas Navy.'' I 
ordered probationers who were skilled welders, painters, plumbers and 
electricians to help in the restoration efforts of the Battleship. As 
one of many creative sentences, this became another effective tool that 
both served the public and the probationer--a few even went on to be 
hired by the Parks and Wildlife Department.
  During the '80s, the ship needed repairs so it could be taken to 
Galveston for refurbishing. Several groups helped with the entire 
operation spearheaded by the Texas Parks Service. The First Texas 
Volunteers provide major restoration projects and have kept this old 
ship alive for thousands of visitors each year. The volunteers are 
working extra hard to prepare the ship for her 100th birthday bash.
  Today, the Battleship Texas serves as a museum and a reminder of wars 
long past. In 1948, she was designated a National Historic Landmark. 
The Texas has an onboard museum that details her efforts in our fight 
for freedom and a history of the sailors that called her their own. The 
San Jacinto State Historical Park is just a short drive--tour the ship, 
enjoy the festivities, and relive some history aboard the magnificent 
USS Texas. And that's just the way it is.

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