REMARKS, DEDICATION OF SHIP'S BELL, U. S. S. MARYLAND

ANNAPOLIS
June 2, 1961

It is a pleasure to me, as Governor of the State, to welcome all of
you to this hallowed spot which has been the seat of government of
the province and State of Maryland since 1690. We have met here
today to dedicate this memorial to a great fighting ship of our Navy
and to the men who served aboard her in war and in peace for almost
40 years. With the great United States Naval Academy situated
here in our capital city, and with its long history as a maritime state,
Maryland feels linked with strong ties of friendship to the United
States Navy and all of its activities. We Marylanders have a deep
sense of affection, in particular, for this battleship which bore the
name of our State. We are proud of her illustrious and heroic history
in battle—at Pearl Harbor, Saipan, Tarawa, Okinawa, Leyte.

We are pleased and honored to have as a reminder of her glorious
career, and of the gallantry of those who manned her, this splendid
monument which we are dedicating here today. We all experienced
a feeling of deep sadness when obsolescence and change demanded
the deactivation of the battleship Maryland, which, when first com-
missioned, was called the "largest and most formidable seafighter
ever built. But the scrapyard could not erase the memories of her
grand and splendid past, and we of Maryland are grateful that this
old bell was preserved and will find a permanent resting place on
the grounds of this historic State House. I should like to express the
sincere appreciation of all the people of Maryland to the Department
of the Navy for donating to us this ship's bell whose melodic tones
you have just heard....

We are very fortunate in having with us today some of the men
whose names figure prominently in the noble history of the U. S. S.
Maryland. The mighty fighting vessel served as the flagship of
Admiral Harry W. Hill, by whose presence we are honored here
today. His first assignment after his graduation from the Naval
Academy 50 years ago this month, I am told, was the old cruiser
Maryland, and his first assignment aboard the battleship Maryland
was in 1928, where he served as gunnery officer. The battleship was
used as his flagship in the ship bombardment of Tarawa atoll in
1944. An too, we are happy to have with us Mrs. Carl H. Jones,
whose husband, the late Admiral Jones, was captain of the ship in

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