USS Kidd- Baton Rouge, LA

USS Kidd (DD-661)

 

While staying in Baton Rouge, LA, we took a field trip to the USS Kidd with some new friends.  For the history, you can trust Wikipedia's more accurate information:

"USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kidd was the first US flag officer to die during World War II, and the first American admiral ever to be killed in action.
The Kidd was selected to serve as a memorial for Louisiana World War II veterans. Kidd was towed from Philadelphia and arrived in Baton Rouge on 23 May 1982, where she was transferred to the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. She is now on public view there as a museum vessel, and she conducts youth group overnight encampments.  The USS Kidd was never modernized and is the only destroyer to retain its World War II appearance; over the years, Kidd has been restored to her August 1945 configuration and armament, culminating on 3 July 1997, when her torpedo tubes were reloaded.  The Kidd's special mooring in the Mississippi River is designed to cope with the annual change in river depth, which can be up to forty feet; for half the year she floats in the river, the other half of the year she is dry-docked out of the water"

No matter how you admire the USS Kidd, it is incredible.  The force it had, its namesake, the restoration efforts, the unique mooring, or simply a part of history to be remembered.  We went with a group of 17 strong, and each person learned something new.  The museum presented some somber history, fun children's exhibits, and accurate maritime tidbits.  The boat was fully restored to WW2 times, and the kids loved pretending they were sailors firing the guns, cleaning the decks, and using the head.