BUFFALO, N.Y. — "Save the Sullivans" was a phrase we heard last year as the iconic waterfront attraction at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park was almost lost.
But with a combined effort and public and private support, the World War Two ship was saved.
And on Tuesday its heritage was observed once again with a special ceremony featuring the namesake family of the ship. We also learned a bit more about the future preservation plan for the ship.
The Navy destroyer officially marked her 80th year as she was launched on April 4, 1943, at the Bethlehem Shipyards in San Francisco.
USS The Sullivans and her caretakers have been through a lot over the past year, but she's still with us with a new splash of champagne Tuesday morning.
Kelcie Loughren was on the bow of the ship as she formally said "In honor of my great grandfather and his brothers I christen thee the Sullivans. And may the luck of the Irish always be with you and your crew."
It was a re-christening for the 80-year-old destroyer designated DD 537. Loughren is the great-granddaughter of fallen World War Two sailor Albert Sullivan who perished with his four brothers in 1942 and inspired this ship's name. And that ceremony re-created what her great, great grandmother did as the actual sponsor of the ship in 1943.
So an anniversary and real celebration just about a year after the Sullivans, battered by waves, ice, and storm surge, started taking on water at the naval park and sank at the stern with a precarious starboard list.
But following many weeks of work to pump out that water, divers patching holes, and other methods, the ship survived with the spiritual support of the grateful Sullivan family of Waterloo, Iowa. Kelly Sullivan, who is Kelcie's mother told 2 On Your Side "I'm still getting emails and phone calls from people asking - how's the ship doing? So everyone back in Waterloo is praying for Buffalo and praying for the Naval Park."
Of course, after weathering that trial, there is now the effort to preserve this ship which was built to be expendable under combat conditions with a very thin hull. There has been talk of putting The Sullivans in a drydock at a shipyard in Erie or Cleveland.
Buffalo Naval and Military Park President and CEO Paul Marzello say a hired naval surveyor is finishing his report. "One of the things that naval surveyor is doing is putting numbers together. You know whether it's a tugging service, whether it's the drydocking services, whether it's anything that needs to be done to the ship in preparation for her departure or upon her return. Because we think that's gonna take upwards of seven months to repair her hull."
"We all feel an obligation to make sure that we can take this ship to the next level. And the only way to do that as we discovered is to get that hull repaired. Not just with the patchwork but to have steel replaced."
The actual operation to move the ship will also be complex according to Marzello. "The Sullivans is double parked to put it in blunt terms here. She has the Little Rock (bigger ship - cruiser) that's closing her in on the outside. She has the Croaker (submarine) which is boxing her in on her bow. Both of those have to be moved out even if it's gonna be temporarily so that the Sullivans can be put in a position to hook up to a tug system. And then it has to reverse the situation coming back. So there's a lot of moving parts. It's gonna be complicated. And it's gonna be expensive."
The naval park has received numerous private donations along with millions of dollars in funding from the state and federal governments.
Marzello says more details on the ship's repair plan should be available in June.