Story reposted with permission from The Times-Standard.
On a foggy Humboldt morning, I visited the World War II era ship USS LCI(L)-1091.
She’s beached below the Samoa Cookhouse, still sitting on the logs used to roll her up from the water years ago. Blackberry vines now creep around those logs. In the distance, an osprey flew to its nest; three osprey nests are visible from 1091. There were also pelicans, geese and godwits that day.
I met Royal McCarthy, the Director of the USS LSI(L)-1091 Museum Association, and Carl Thode who, with Royal, works to preserve and restore the ship. Both are Vietnam veterans, Royal with the Air Force and Carl with the Navy. Ray Olson, who produces the Humboldt Outdoors series for Access Humboldt and others, joined us, as did a machinist named Dillon Jones, a guy I collected when we both found ourselves facing a locked gate.
Dipping into her Wikipedia page, I had learned that 1091 served in the Pacific during World War II, landing at Okinawa and sweeping mines from Japanese waters after the war. 1091 was on hand when nuclear testing occurred at Bikini Atoll. Later, she participated in the Korean War, having been converted to epidemic disease control. (Royal said she was involved in “black ops” sneaking into Korean and Chinese-held waters to study diseases. There have been conspiracy theories about that work.) 1091 enjoyed a designation as one of the smallest aircraft carriers in the Navy, as she served for a time launching target drones for anti-aircraft gunners. She was decommissioned in 1955.
LCI stands for Landing Craft Infantry, a class of ships designed to take soldiers right to the beach. Of the approximately 1,500 built, only two remain. 1091 held 240 soldiers in bunkhouses below, while two dozen crew members, four officers and 20 enlisted sailors ran the ship itself. Soldiers typically were on board for only a few hours to a couple of days, confined to tiny bunkhouses. Even with these short stays, guys got bored. Apparently there’s some pretty graphic art drawn on mattresses from the bunks below.
As a ship, 1091 was fast, out-motoring destroyers that she sailed alongside. Her very shallow draft made for low water resistance. It also made for one of the most topsy-turvy, seasickness-inducing rides in the entire US Navy.
1091 went on to a civilian career as a salmon cannery ship in Alaska and then as an albacore fishing boat off of Eureka. Along the way, Dr. Ralph Davis of McKinleyville, a veteran with LCI service himself, bought the ship, eventually donating it to the museum association.
Carl remembered when the 1091 operated in Humboldt. He worked for Renner Petroleum delivering fuel. “We couldn’t stand fueling that thing,” he groused. Apparently, it took hours. In her defense, 1091 has a capacity of 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel. At current Humboldt rates, it would take about $320,000 to fill ‘er up. Carl has a clear fondness for the old ship. Among other things, it smells like the Midway, the aircraft carrier he served on.
The men restoring her love the mechanical details. Her bulletproof twin Detroit 1271 engines. The direct drive, reversible propellers. The engine order telegraph.
I asked what the long-term vision is. Royal and Carl describe the ship as a future museum, ideally back in the water, part of a historical district on the peninsula that includes the Timber Heritage Museum and the Cookhouse.
Shorter term, they fight rust. There’s a lot, enough that I imagined I could hear it chewing away. They work on 1091 a couple of mornings a week. Workdays, according to Royal, begin with a bull session. There’s discussion of the state of the world. “We tend toward conservative out here,” he added.
The crew has dwindled. Financial resources are thin. But they’ve learned some tricks, like using Flex Seal after sandblasting rusted areas, which appears to be making their repairs last. “We just really desire to keep her from the scrap heap,” one of the men said quietly.
It’s a tall order. Time, tide and rust don’t wait, not for humans and not for ships. Carl and Royal would love additional hands on deck, in particular fellow veterans. Donations and fundraising partners would be equally welcome. You can get in touch with Royal directly to learn more at royalbmcc@gmail.com or 707-498-1215.
I drove back into the fog thinking that you have to root for people who have, and work toward, difficult-to-achieve dreams.
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN, a DreamMaker project of the Ink People Center for the Arts, supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.