The battleship USS Iowa was towed to her temporary berth at Richmond Harbor’s Pier 3 in late October with a volunteer crew from Suisun Bay and the Port of Benicia.
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary facility vessel The Yellow Boat with coxswain Tommy Holtzman and crew from Flotilla 35 in Sacramento accompanied the USS Iowa to its temporary berth at Richmond Harbor. Photo by Gail Giacomini
Published: December, 2011
The battleship USS Iowa was towed to her temporary berth at Richmond Harbor’s Pier 3 in late October with a volunteer crew from Suisun Bay and the Port of Benicia. U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary facility vessel The Yellow Boat with coxswain Tommy Holtzman and crew from Flotilla 35 in Sacramento accompanied the vessel during her short voyage.
On hand assisting in docking the historic vessel, decommissioned in 1990, were about 10 line handlers and observers from Northern California U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotillas. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, created by Congress in 1939, is the uniformed volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all its service missions. Members of other marine organizations and businesses, including California Sailing Club, California Maritime Academy and Strike Models, also joined in docking the WWII vessel.
After the ship was safely moored and the gangway lowered, Mike Getscher, with several other volunteers from the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC), gave dock volunteers and the interested public an informative deck tour. Getscher said, “This ship has a huge amount of steel incorporated in its hull, which helped it withstand a direct hit,” pointing out a slight dent in the superstructure where a Japanese rocket had bounced off the thick steel plating. Abner “Joe” Knadler, a former Iowa First Class Electrician’s Mate (1942-44) boarded the vessel with his daughter, Alicia Knadler, for an interview and tour.
The USS Iowa is scheduled to be berthed in Los Angeles after work in Richmond is completed in 2012. It was unclear when we went to press whether there will be any tours while docked in Richmond. For more information, visit PBC’s website at www.pacificbattleship.com or visit the Pacific Battleship Center’s Facebook page.
