The ‘Ship That Would Not Die’ Returns to South Carolina [Video]

The “Ship That Would Not Die” returned to the Charleston Harbor on the South Carolina coast today more than two years after it was moved for renovations.

The Press Herald reports that the USS Laffey was moved to a dry dock so its hull could be repaired. It then made its way down the Cooper River to the Patriots Point Navel and Maritime Museum where a dozen former crew members waited for the World War II destroyer to return home.

The USS Laffey earned its name “The Ship That Would Not Die” when it was sitting off the coast of Okinawa in 1945. The ship was attacked by 50 planes. It endured four bombs and five kamikaze crashes. 103 people died that day but the ship sailed on.

Sonny Walker of Abington, Md., who served on the Laffey in the early 1960s, said:

“This is the third time. The Germans tried to sink her. The Japanese tried to sink her and then she tried to sink herself sitting here. She’s whipped them all and she’s back again.”

Here’s a video about “The Ship That Would Not Die.” (The part about the US Laffey starts around the 2 minute mark.)

Mac Burdette, the executive director of Patriots Point, said:

“More than ever we need reminders of what dedication and sacrifice are required if we are going to remain a free and independent nation. Can we do without the Washington Monument that is going to take millions of dollars to repair from the earthquake? No. There are some things that are just worth paying for and this is part of it.”

Do you think it’s important to renovate national treasures like the US Laffey or the Washington Monument?