05/12/2026
Museum Ship Monday!
Normally, I would dedicate a post to the history of a museum ship when I do this segment. However, wanted to instead share a personal story about a museum ship.
Everyone who has a hobby or passion is alike in that they gained it through a particular exposure. Something that stuck out for being so interesting or inspiring that it stirred something in them. Something that made them want to keep pursuing it. For me, it was the subject of today's post.
Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay, I spent a lot of time fishing on the bay. I would spend hours out on the water with my grandfather and great-uncle. On that particular day, we were trolling up the bay in the pursuit of rockfish. We had just made the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and begun turning south again when I happened to look under the bridge and noticed a ship leaving the mouth of the Patapsco River. This in itself is nothing special. Since it leads to the Port of Baltimore, I've seen all manner of ships traveling down the Patapsco. However, I did notice that the superstructure of this ship was different from the typical cargo ships or ro-ros that I normally see. At the time, I didn't think much of it. We had turned south again and began moving away from the Bay Bridge. The finder was chirping, so I turned my attention back to the rods.
Some time later, we turned back north to make another pass over a promising spot. As we neared the Bay Bridge, I noticed that the mystery ship was passing through the channel under the bridge at the same time. We turned south once again, allowing us to cruise alongside the ship at a distance. Thanks to this, I was finally able to get a good look at the ship. Remember that I had none of the knowledge that I have today. Even so, stupid kid that I was, I could tell that this ship was different. The hull colors were different. The superstructure was unlike anything I had seen before. It even sounded different compared to other ships. It also looked like it had guns on its deck, but I didn't know if I believed that at the time. My grandfather gave me a pair of binoculars, and I was able to take a closer look. Under the starboard bow, I was able to make out the name John W. Brown.
It was my great-uncle who finally said the ship looked like the merchant ships he had been around. Wondering when he would have been around such a ship, I was just about to ask him when I was interrupted by a new sound. At that moment, a plane suddenly flew low overhead and made for the John W. Brown. Now I didn't know much about naval ships at the time, but I had watched "Tora Tora Tora", "The Final Countdown", and "Midway" (1976). The green paint on the aircraft and the big red circles on the wings were unmistakable. This was a Japanese plane!
I watched as Japan's wayward son circled around and made passes over the John W. Brown. I was then treated to the spectacle of watching the ship begin firing blanks from its deck gun! While I listened to the sounds of the deck guns and the thrum of the Japanese plane, I then heard a strange new sound. This new loud, whistling sound revealed itself as another new aircraft. Thanks to the previously mentioned movies, I recognized the bent wings as belonging to a F4U Corsair. Now we had a mock dogfight before the Corsair chased off the Japanese plane. The Corsair made a few passes around the John W. Brown before it departed as well. Finally, a larger two-engine plane arrived. I don't remember the identity of this plane outside of it having a twin tail (want to say a B-25, but I'm not certain). I watched in amazement as it flew at low altitude over the John W. Brown. At times, the aircraft was so low I thought it might even try to fly under the Bay Bridge.
Sadly, the spectacle eventually ended, and we began to move away from the John W. Brown. By that point, I was still trying to figure out exactly what it was that I had just witnessed. I'm not sure if he was inspired by what he had seen, or if he had seen my sudden interest, but my great-uncle then began telling me stories. Stories about serving aboard a Fletcher class destroyer, escorting liberty ships like the John W. Brown, and other amazing things.
I cannot remember the rest of that day, but I remember where it led. I began collecting as many books as I could on naval history. Liberty ships led to destroyers. Destroyers led to cruisers and battleships. I worked my way from World War 2 to the present and then from World War 2 to ancient history. While that was going on, my trips back out onto the bay involved more stories from my great-uncle. Exotic locations, pranks aboard The Sullivans, nighttime bombardments off Korea. Needless to say, I was hooked.
There you have it, a chance encounter with the SS John W. Brown on a random summer day is why I am here right here. I've toured many a museum ship since then, but the John W. Brown has always been my favorite. I'll do a real post on the history of the John W. Brown in a future post and maybe even drive up for a visit.
If you want to learn more about the SS John W. Brown, you can follow them here:
SS John W. Brown (Project Liberty Ship)
