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The Traveling Fool
Traveling off the tourist path. Talking about those places most tourists just don't know about because, well, nobody ever told them. Also travel tips and news about travel and tourism to make your trip a little easier, cheaper and more memorable.
The Traveling Fool
Battleship Memorial Park: A Tribute to WW2 Valor and Courage
Step aboard history and prepare for an unforgettable journey through Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama! Ever wondered what it feels like to be inches away from a Pershing tank or to navigate the decks of a colossal WWII battleship? This episode promises an immersive adventure as we explore an extraordinary collection of military tanks, artillery, and aircraft from key historical conflicts. We’ll guide you through the iconic exhibits, including Army One, the President's helicopter, and a flight simulator that offers a thrilling experience to every visitor. Plus, discover the storied USS Drum, the oldest American submarine on display, with an impressive record of 12 battle stars and 15 enemy ships sunk during World War II.
But the excitement doesn't stop there. We also take you aboard the USS Alabama, a massive battleship with 12 decks brimming with history. Navigate its main deck, quarters, kitchens, and briefing rooms as we share the heroics of Bob Feller, a renowned baseball pitcher who served during World War II. Learn about his service and how it intertwined with his illustrious sports career. We’ll also touch on other captivating vessels and attractions at the park, providing essential visitor information like admission prices and discounts. To wrap up, we share indispensable travel safety tips to ensure a smooth and secure journey, especially when venturing overseas. Buckle up for this enriching historical adventure and practical travel advice!
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Hello and welcome to the Traveling Fool. I'm your host, bob Bales, and today we are going to visit some World War II history. Stay tuned to the end of the podcast and I'm going to give you some excellent travel tips, and don't forget to hit that subscribe button. Hi and welcome back Now.
Speaker 1:A couple of episodes ago, I took you on a trip to two historical forts on the Gulf of Mexico and the importance they played in US history. Well, today we're going to visit a place that's just north of there Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, alabama. Now, the park actually consists of several displays relating to military history and it's both fascinating and educational. And it's both fascinating and educational. Now, I visit a lot of military-related historic exhibits all over the world and this one ranks right up there as one of the best places that you can take the family to get up close to history. Anyone who likes military history or just history in general will love this place, and I can tell you every kid I saw there was having a blast.
Speaker 1:Now, when you enter the park, you'll see several tanks and artillery pieces. They have tanks from World War II, korea, the Vietnam War. All of those are included in the collection I mean you'll find like a Pershing tank, an M4 Sherman tank, an old Patton tank and an M60A1 tank. Also included in these are a T-55 Russian Iraqi tank from Desert Storm, and the reason they say Russian Iraqi is because they bought equipment from Russia, from Russia. Now, various artillery pieces are included, like an M24 or an M42 duster. There's several 5-inch .38 caliber gun mounts. There's a 120-millimeter skysweeper. I mean these are like anti-aircraft weapons and armor and artillery. You'll have a blast just checking this stuff out, all kinds of field pieces out there, 155 millimeter cannon. You can stop there at any of the areas along the way before you actually get to the main parking lot and explore all the various tanks and other
Speaker 1:equipment. So once you park you're going to be right in front of the main building and you'll see a battleship on the left of the building and a submarine just to the right of the building. The main entrance building houses the aircraft pavilion. Yeah, they got aircraft too. In fact they got over 30 different aircraft, including Army One, the President's helicopter. They've also got a flight simulator in there and it is an amazing little display. There's some military history from Alabama National Guard in there. There's placards in front of all the aircraft that tell you about the aircraft and some of the historic things that they did there, and the entrances to both the battleship and the submarine are in that main building where the aircraft are located. So you go in the building, you buy your ticket and you can take 20-30 minutes just walking around looking at all the various aircraft and stuff. And when you're ready to check out the main attractions, I suggest you visit the submarine first. So you go out the door with a sign that says a USS Drum
Speaker 1:submarine. The USS Drum is the oldest American submarine on display in the world Now. The USS Drum was laid down on 11 September 1940 in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine and it was launched 12 May 1941. The drum is well, compared to today's standards, tiny. It's 311 feet 9 inches in length. That's not very big when you figure out how many people it had on board, which was up to eight officers and 75 enlisted
Speaker 1:men. I love old movies, world War II movies and stuff when I was a kid and even now I still like watching them the old black and white movies and you see these black and white submarine movies from World War II and you see guys running all through the submarines and four or five people in the ward room all talking and everything, and it looks like, yeah, it's kind of small, but they've got room. No, they do not. I don't know how they made those movies, but I'm telling you it is tough just getting from one compartment to the next in this submarine and those ward compartments that you see all those officers sitting in having a cup of coffee discussing battle plans. Well, that thing's got to be like three feet by four feet total. So I don't know how they shoved all the people in there. But the drum, well, while it was on battle duty it earned 12 battle stars. It sank 15 ships and over 80,000 tons of enemy shipping. This little puppy saw some action during World War II. As far as torpedoes, it had 10 21-inch torpedo tubes, 6 forward torpedo tubes and 4 in the aft. 24 torpedoes altogether is what they would carry. Forward gun deck they had a 5-inch 25-caliber gun. On the Ford deck they also had an anti-aircraft gun on the Ford, a 40-millimeter Bofors anti-aircraft gun, and in the rear deck they had twin 20mm
Speaker 1:guns. Now, the submarine was launched, like I said, in 1941. And it arrived at Pearl Harbor from the East Coast April 1, 1942, after a voyage to Midway. Once she arrived on Pearl Harbor she didn't stay there very long. She left there April 14, 1942, and headed out on her first war patrol cruising off the coast of Japan. She sank the seaplane Tender Mizuho is the name of that ship and three cargo ships in the month of May. She was finally decommissioned on February 16, 1946, and in 1947, she began service in Washington DC to members of the Naval Reserve and the Potomac River Naval Command, and the USS Drum was still on service through 1967. She was in the inactive fleet at Norfolk from 67 to
Speaker 1:69. The USS Drum participated in 13 war patrols. The USS Drum participated in 13 war patrols and most of them, except three of them, were designated successful, and those were when you go out and actually sink stuff, so it was three of them where she didn't sink something Received a total of 12 battle stars from World War II service, credited with sinking a total of 15 ships, 80,000 tons of shipping the eighth highest of all US submarines and total Japanese tonnage sunk. In 1969, the USS Drum was donated to the USS Alabama Battleship Commission where it found a home on Mobile Bay, and I got to tell you I'm a big guy, but going in and out of those little portholes they have from one section to the other on that submarine, it is tough. I don't see how guys would run through that thing and dive through the little holes. As far as sleeping conditions and stuff, you're talking about sleeping in hammocks just crammed in like
Speaker 1:sardines. The eating area that you see is a little bitty table. It looks like a picnic table but by today's standards you would think it might be for a child. Instead there were up to six guys that sat at that table being served out of a little window by the cook who had basically a grill, a coffee pot and not much more in there, in a very, very, very small section. I mean, even the officers who had the best quarters in the world were small. The commanding officer of that ship, his bedroom was probably, I want to say, about four and a half foot wide and about six and a half foot long. In there he had a little bitty bunk that wasn't very big and a little fold down desk and a chair, and that little desk was probably three foot wide, about two foot in depth, and then cabinets and stuff where he could put his stuff and shelves underneath his
Speaker 1:bunk. You want to see how small things are, I mean the officer's shower, which was real little. There's no way in the world I could fit that thing. I mean we're talking probably two and a half foot square, very small. Everything on board that ship had to be crammed in there. So everywhere you look I mean where you're sleeping there's pipes overhead, gauges to your right, knobs to your left. Even when you're sitting down eating, I mean it doesn't matter where you are on that thing, there's a pipe, some kind of gauge, some kind of knob or something sitting right there. I would imagine that everybody banged their head on those things at least two or three times a
Speaker 1:day. But it gives you a really good perspective of what guys went through during World War II, all those guys being stuck in that little bitty boat under the water for extended periods of time. You're thinking there's not a lot of central heat and air going on there, because they didn't have that. They had just some air blowing through some fans and they had to be quiet on a lot of occasions so they weren't detected. It's amazing what people went through back then. I mean, even today submarines are. It takes a special type person to be underwater for that length of time. But back then I don't think I could have done it. Now, after you leave and check out the USS Drum, you go back through the main building and go out the other entrance, which is the USS Alabama, and the first thing you notice when you see it is oh my God, it is so big compared to that little bitty
Speaker 1:submarine. Well, it was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the US Navy and it was launched in 1942. At first, the USS Alabama operated along the US coast and in 1943, it was then stationed out in the North Atlantic to guard against the threat of raids by German heavy ships. After that, uss Alabama was transferred to the Pacific, and that was in early well about mid-1943, sometime around August. During November of that year, the Alabama took part in the operation to capture the Gilbert Islands. In 1944, the Alabama participated in taking the Marshalls, the Marianas and Leyte in the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf and raids on Japanese positions elsewhere in the Pacific. Following an overhaul and training in January through April of 45, the battleship rejoined the fleet for operations in the western Pacific, which included attacks on Japanese home islands also took part in the occupation of Japan and then the return of veterans to the United States in August through October of
Speaker 1:1945. The Alabama was decommissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, washington, in January 1947, and it remained in reserve duty until struck from the Naval Registry in 1962. Two years later, it was turned over to the state of Alabama. Since September of 1964, the Alabama has been birthed in Mobile, alabama, as a memorial to those who served and sacrificed during World War II. It is an amazing ship. Just to walk along those decks, check out all those guns and everything. After entering service, the Alabama was briefly deployed to strengthen the British home fleet. Like I said, it protected convoys all the way to the Soviet Union, so it worked in both the Atlantic and the Pacific campaigns. In 1986, the ship was declared a National Historic Landmark and now, during their careers, a museum ship has been used for several movies, including the movie Under Siege in 1992 and the USS Indianapolis Men of Courage in
Speaker 1:2016. Like I said, compared to the USS Drum submarine, that battleship is huge, but you have to remember, during peacetime it carried about 17, almost 1,800 officers and enlisted men. During wartime that went up to 2,500. That's a lot of folks to be on that battleship. As far as armament, they had nine 16-inch guns, 25-inch guns, six quadruple 40 millimeter anti-aircraft guns those are the ones with four barrels sticking out that you see in the movies and they had 35 single-barrel 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns. So they had a lot of anti-aircraft guns because battleships were a big target for those Japanese warplanes. Now, in addition to all the guns, she also carried two OS-2U Kingfisher float planes that were used for aerial reconnaissance and they were launched by a pair of aircraft catapults on her fantail. During her time in service, the USS Alabama won nine battle stars for meritorious service and was awarded the title the Mighty A during her brief three-year tenure. Why the Mighty A? Well, the USS Alabama never lost a man to enemy fire and it was also known as the Lucky A. Now, with all that weapons on board during the war. On board during the war, the Alabama's nine 16-inch main guns fired over 1,200 rounds at enemy targets. Her secondary batteries, the 20-inch or the 25-inch guns, were part of the most effective anti-aircraft screening actions of any Navy during the war. Those, combined with the Alabama's 40 millimeter and 20 millimeter cannons, downed 22 Japanese warplanes in the
Speaker 1:Pacific. Now the Alabama has 12 different decks you can explore. When you enter, you're going to go to the main deck outside where all the big guns are pointed out to sea. Walk along and you say, oh, this is a big old ship, watch out for the anchor, you might trip. Well, when you walk in that door, you've got an option downstairs or upstairs or explore that level. So you go downstairs. Well, you got to come back up and they have 12 decks on that
Speaker 1:ship. Now I got to tell you, man, I'm old and my knees hurt. I did not make it up 12 decks, I did do about eight of them, but after that my knees decided, no, they've had enough, you've had your fun for the day. You squeezed in and out of that little submarine. You're not going to be going up any more decks on this ship. So I didn't make it up the last four decks or five decks, but I'm telling you it is an amazing ship to explore five decks. But I'm telling you it is an amazing ship to explore. You go in and out of all the quarters where they did the cooking and the kitchens and the galleys and everything. You see the storerooms and where they did the laundry and where these guys slept and the gun batteries. You can crawl in and out of the turrets of those things. I mean you can wander all around there. You see the briefing rooms and the captain's quarters and all this various
Speaker 1:stuff. It is an amazing ship to tour and as big as it is, like I said, you've got to remember how many folks were on board that thing. You've got a ship with 12 decks a little over 300 foot long. Oh, did I say 300? No, it's like 690 foot long. But you got 690 foot long ship. You got 12 decks. Now, the higher you get, those decks get a little smaller. I mean we're talking just towers and stuff where not a lot of people can fit in those things. So the majority of decks are below and the first one or two decks above, and you've got 2,500 people on board that ship. So I would imagine it got extremely crowded. In other words, you better like the guys you work with because you're going to be up close and personal all the
Speaker 1:time. Now, one of the many men who served aboard the USS Alabama was Bob Feller and I mention him because I love baseball too, and Bob Feller was an American baseball pitcher. He played 18 seasons in the Major League for the Cleveland Indians between 1936 and 1956. In fact, he was so good that he bypassed the minor leagues. He made his debut with the Indians at the ripe old age of 17 and became the first pitcher to win 24 games in a season before he even made it to 21 years old. During his career, he threw no hitters in 1940, 46, and 51, and a bunch of one hitters. Both records were the time he
Speaker 1:retired. Now to show you a different time, the United States entered World War II with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Bob Feller heard about the bombing while returning from a visit to his father who was terminally ill and he was getting ready to sign a new contract with the Indians. Well, two days later he volunteered for the Navy, becoming the first American professional athlete to enlist. He attended basic training, did all this stuff and they put him in as a physical fitness instructor when he finished naval basic training and all of that. He also pitched in baseball games hosted by the military. I mean, we got this famous baseball star, so we're going to try to mount
Speaker 1:there. Although he received an exemption owing to his father's failing health, he wanted to serve in combat missions. He would later go on to say you know, I told him I wanted to get into combat, I wanted to do something besides standing around handing out baseballs and bats and making ball fields out of coral reefs. So he gets assigned to the USS Alabama where he served as a gun captain and when the war ended he was discharged as a chief petty officer. That was in 1945. He was decorated with six campaign ribbons, eight battle stars, while serving on missions in both the Pacific and North Atlantic. What did he do after the war? Well, he signed on back with the Cleveland Indians and then wound up doing a whole bunch of great stuff in baseball, finally retiring in 1956. Just one of the many men who interrupted, whatever their day-to-day lives were, and went on to serve in the military. Now, although the park features the USS Alabama and the submarine Drum, both National Historic Landmarks, there are three other vessels included in the park. Outside, at the Coast Guard Memorial, is a 26-foot motor surf launch and a 41-foot utility boat, and inside the aircraft pavilion there's a Vietnam-era river patrol boat. That's a cool little
Speaker 1:boat. Battleship Memorial Park is located on Mobile Bay, just off of Highway 98. It's open every single day of the year except Christmas, and it's open from 8 am to 5 pm. Admission well, if you got kids up to the age of five they get in for free, and then a little older, between six and 11, six dollars, and if you're between the ages of 12 to 55, it costs 18 dollars, 55 and older 15 dollars. But they also have discounts for active duty military and their dependents, veterans, and if you're a member of AAA you also get a
Speaker 1:discount. If you're anywhere near Mobile, alabama, I highly suggest visiting Battleship Memorial Park. You will not be disappointed. This is a fantastic experience. I had a blast there, even with my bad knees. Now, I appreciate you listening and don't forget to hit that like
Speaker 1:button. But as I promised when we started, I'm going to give you a few travel tips to make your travels just a little bit easier. Now this first one. I use all the time Mainly. I traveled overseas a lot years ago. I mean a whole bunch. I was always traveling overseas and it really comes in handy
Speaker 1:there. But it comes in handy anywhere, and that is if you're going to a destination and going to spend a week or two just exploring the destination, book a hotel for two nights. That's it, because no matter what you see on the internet, you will not know what it's like there until you're there. Two nights gives you time to relax, decide if you want to stay there or move to a different location. I mean, most of the time, unless you're going to an all-inclusive resort, you're not going to spend a lot of time in the room anyway or at the hotel. But what you want is a secure location that's close to all the attractions, that's in a safe area and has things that you need and is a nice, comfortable room, well clean and someplace you can sleep Well clean and someplace you can sleep. You'll find that out in the first two nights and, if you want to, you can just up and move to a different location rather than being locked in because you reserved the place for 10 days. So that's tip number
Speaker 1:one. Number two and this one works overseas as well as locally, especially overseas Get away from the main tourist areas. You can save a lot of money when it comes to dining or shopping just by going a few blocks from where those main tourist areas are at, instead of paying the inflated tourist prices, whichever place has it, even in the States, you can go a couple of blocks away and that beer that you want to have to relax will be probably half the price it would in a tourist location. You'll find the prices just drop dramatically. Overseas, especially, they have some amazing street food vendors and you can find street food where the locals eat. Sometimes it's some of the best food you'll eat and the prices are local prices instead of tourist prices. So get away from those main tourist areas and explore a little
Speaker 1:bit. The third one talk to everyone. Talk to the people at the hotel. Talk to cab drivers and stuff. If you're asking for an opinion, you don't ask the opinion of someone who's getting paid to provide it. You want to know where the best meal is near the hotel. Well, the person cleaning the rooms isn't getting a kickback from the dining area, but the concierge is. So talk to those folks, ask them hey, you know, I was wanting to just go check out a really nice bar, someplace I could relax. Where do you suggest? Well, the concierge is going to send you to the hot nightclub and if you want to go there, that's fine. But the guy that's maybe cleaning your room or working security outside, he's going to tell you oh well, there's a really cool little bar right down the street there Taxicab drivers. They'll give you good information about where you can go for shopping or dining or whatever. Just talk to everybody. You will find places that are not listed in these travel
Speaker 1:guides. Next one you want to capture the perfect photo on your beach destination or that old historic town you're staying in? You've got to get up early, and by early I'm talking sunrise. You want to get the absolute best photos in the world. Do it at sunrise, because the streets are basically abandoned. You're not going to find cars jamming the streets. You're not going to find crowds of people walking around. You can get a beach photo of maybe one or two people standing out there instead of the several thousand that'll show up at 10 o'clock in the morning, and those are the best times to get your photos. Next one I learned this one in the military Whenever you're packing, just roll your clothes nice and tight instead of folding
Speaker 1:them. First of all, you can pack a whole lot more in there and it makes packing a lot easier. And once you get in the habit of rolling those clothes, you'll find out whoa, I've got so much extra room in this suitcase. Well, now I can bring a souvenir back. I'm going to give you two or three real quick ones, and then we're going to be done here. Keep your wallet in your front
Speaker 1:pocket. Traveling abroad and even a lot of places here in the States, you go to a tourist location there's going to be pickpockets. They won't bother trying to get that thing out of your front pocket. But out of your back pocket you'll never even know it's missing. Keep your cash, your wallet, in your front pocket. You won't have to worry about it. Next, always give a relative or a close friend your travel itinerary before you leave. Why, in case they need to get in touch with you, they'll know where to find you. You can just tell them hey, I'm going to be going to this place for the next two weeks I'll be staying at this hotel. If I change hotels, I'll drop you a text. You never know what's going to happen. Someone needs to get in touch with you and that way they can find you and to go along with
Speaker 1:that. If you're traveling abroad, register with the US State Department's Safe Travel Program. What you do is you sign up with them, tell them where you're going to be, tell them how long you're going to be there and they will give you updates and emails regarding any situation in the country that you need to be aware of, such as a national disaster or a natural disaster or any kind of hostilities breaking out or anything like this. Let's say you're traveling to somewhere in Asia and a tsunami hits. Well, they can give you updates saying hey, there's a tsunami coming, hey, it's affecting this area, and if you do happen to be in that area and do need to be evacuated, the State Department will know where you're at and they can help get you out of the
Speaker 1:country. It's important, but you just register with them. Hey, I'm here, this is where I'm going to be. Anything happens, let me know. You'll get little updates throughout your stay of anything that you need to be made aware of. So those are just a few travel tips that'll keep you safe, make your travels a little easier. I really appreciate you listening. Like I said, hit that subscribe button or like button and until next time, safe travels, thank you.
