by Andy Zlotnick
The boys from Boy Scout Troop 222 went on an adventure to Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA, aboard the battleship USS Massachusetts, BB59, “The big Mamie,” on Saturday, May 19, The Troop has been planning this trip for two years. The trip included staying overnight aboard the USS Massachusetts in the same bunks as the original WW II sailors and crew. The boys toured the ship and museum and a destroyer and a submarine that were moored alongside the battleship.
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The boys learned that the battleship served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operation during WW II. The most surprising fact to be learned was that during WW II the USS Massachusetts never lost a man to enemy action. Boy Scout Trevar Hall said, “I can’t believe that the ship never lost even one man to enemy action during the war.” The ship was considered lucky by some who heard this but the crew knew that it was the training and having everyone knowing their jobs and what to do that made this possible.
The boys were amazed at the fact that the ship was a floating city with a bakery, a barbershop and a post office with mail delivery every day even during the war and that the crew could get to battle stations within three minutes from wherever they were on the ship. The adventure was well liked by all who went.
The boys and the Troop want to thank the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center for all their support and encouragement as the charter organization for the Troop.
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