[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15408]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE USS ``CRUISER OLYMPIA''

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 12, 2011

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, since 1922, an American icon 
of the late 19th and early 20th Century, the USS Cruiser Olympia, rests 
majestically at Penn's Landing, in our District, along the Philadelphia 
waterfront of the Delaware River. The Cruiser Olympia is a National 
Historic Landmark, a National Historic Engineering Landmark, is on the 
National Register of Historic Places, and is best known in history as 
the Flagship of Commodore George Dewey in his 1899 victory at the 
Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, as well as being 
sent by the President to France in 1921 to return the remains of a 
World War I U.S. soldier for internment in the ``new'' Tomb of the 
Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery. This first unknown solider was 
laid in State in the Capitol Rotunda before beginning the final journey 
across the Memorial Bridge to Arlington Cemetery on November 10-11, 
1921. It is one of the only warships of that era still afloat in the 
world! The Cruiser Olympia stood for the principles that make America 
the great Nation that it is, and is the sole survivor of a time in 
American history when these principles helped to define a Nation to the 
entire world.
  Unfortunately, unless the American public and the U.S. Congress takes 
notice to preserve this national treasure for future generations, I am 
afraid our Nation might lose this great ship to old age and neglect. 
Unless it is placed in dry dock in Philadelphia, and its hull 
stabilized, we could lose this historic vessel. The Cruiser suffers 
from a combination of threats. It has not been placed in dry dock for 
maintenance in over sixty years. There are 62 openings along the hull 
near or at the waterline that permit water to enter the vessel, the 
steel is rusting, and the original wood has been slowly rotting and 
deteriorating, causing leaks into the interior. The land underneath the 
Cruiser Olympia also requires dredging as years of silt have built up 
underneath her, not allowing her to float free from her moorings. We 
simply cannot permit the Cruiser Olympia to disappear.
  The legislation I am introducing today will be one of many efforts to 
restore and preserve the Cruiser Olympia. The bill permits the U.S. 
Mint, at no cost to the taxpayer, to design and offer for sale to the 
public a commemorative coin honoring the Cruiser Olympia, and that the 
sales of these coins will be utilized by the Friends of the Cruiser 
Olympia for dry-docking and preserving the Cruiser Olympia as a ship 
museum. As a tax-exempt organization whose mission is to restore the 
Cruiser Olympia, I cannot think of any more worthwhile project to 
support. I understand that after its successful voyage to Manila 
Harbor, the U.S. Congress in 1899 struck a medal to present to each of 
the sailors and officers aboard the Cruiser Olympia to commemorate 
their victory in this engagement. This would be the first time in 112 
years that the Congress would once again honor the Cruiser Olympia.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the bill and support its passage in 
the Congress so that we can begin the process to restore this great 
historic Cruiser so that present and future generations of Americans 
and visitors to our nation can view the Cruiser Olympia, walk its decks 
and envision a time years ago when it ruled the waves.

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