The USS Oregon Memorial In Trouble
The memorial to the USS Oregon, the famed Spanish-American War battleship is in trouble and needs your help.
The ship was located in Portland, Oregon as a memorial in 1925 until 1942 when, during World War II, the ship was reclaimed by the U.S. Navy and dismantled for her metal to support the war effort. After the war, the Mast was placed in Waterfront Park in Portland as a memorial and reminder of the famed warship. The Military Mast and a few other pieces are and a few other pieces are all that remain and are in a sad state of disrepair. She is barely being held together by a few dedicated volunteers.
Time is running out for the remnants of a once proud warrior. The mast is over a hundred years old and is subjected to graffiti from disrespectful people who do not understand the sacrifices that many men have made so they can live in freedom as Americans. Additionally the mast sits aside a major roadway and is subjected to vehicle pollution. Once a year, the mast takes a beating during the Rose Festival, an event she originally help ushered in. Now, during the festival, she serves as a glorified hot dog stand and smoking lounge.
The mast needs your help. If you are interested in helping, please contact me via e-mail. Over the next few months, I will be contacting various organizations and officials to encourage the preservation of the mast and to establish a new, more modern memorial for the ship. I welcome your ideas and comments that you may have. As ideas and plans come in, I will post them here.
We must never abandon, our history. If we forget the past, we can never learn for the future.