During the late 1990’s and 2000’s, I had coffee early each morning with a few guys who were much older than I.  They were all retired, but had led interesting, productive lives, and hadgreat stories and wisdom to offer.  One of them was Ed Kalman, a former college professor, who later moved to Steep Falls, Maine, to live with his children until he died in 2018 at the age of 94. He was a soft spoken old curmudgeon, who could converse on a wide range of subjects, and was always well informed on politics and current events. We were good friends for over 15 years. I felt sorry for him when he moved to Maine, because all his friends were here, and he really didn’t want to go.  So when I asked him why he did, he replied, “I’m in my late 80’s.  What do you want me to do- get a divorce?”  (He may have been better off!)    He was bored and lonely in Steep Falls, and called me all the time.  He would mail me newspaper clippings of stories that he thought would interest me, and lead to phone conversations.  Only once, when on my way to Rangeley, did I stop to meet him outside of Portland for coffee. I felt guilty about not seeing him more often, the way we all feel when we think of an elderly friend or relative whom we just never get around to visiting.  We keep meaning to visit, until we eventually learn that they have passed away.

While Ed lived near me in Sharon, MA, we did a number of things together, like museums, harbor boat trips, etc.  One morning, he mentioned to me that there was going to be a commissioning ceremony  at Commonwealth Pier in Boston Harbor for a recently launched naval warship. It was private, by invitation only, but he figured we might be able to get close enough to see some of it. I had my doubts, but agreed to go. All I knew about the vessel was her name, the USS Preble.  I decided to see what I could learn about the event, prior to going there.

 

The U.S.S. Preble was a state-of-the-art Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, named after Commodore Edward Preble, once captain of the U.S.S. Constitution.  He had served on the Winthrop, and had captured a British vessel at Castine, ME, during the Revolutionary War.  Later,  Preble had taken Old Ironsides to the African coast, where she attacked and sank a number of the Barbary pirates’ vessels which had been terrorizing U.S. shipping. (I guess some things haven’t changed much since then…) He is credited with establishing the U.S. policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists.  After his impressive campaign in the Mediterranean, his health began to fail, and he was stationed in Portland to oversee construction of naval vessels.  He died in 1807, at the age of 46, and lies buried in Portland’s Eastern Cemetery.  There are two streets named after him, in Portland and South Portland. He
was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his exemplary service.

We headed for the pier on a warm Saturday morning in November, 2002.  The entire area was surrounded by a chain link fence, so we searched for a good viewing point outside the fence.  We could see the futuristic looking Preble docked along the pier, and to our surprise, sitting bow to bow next to none other than the U.S.S. Constitution!   Now, this was going to be interesting! The oldest commissioned warship in the world, adjacent to a vessel so technologically advanced, it looked like it came from a science fiction movie.

We found the best spot we could, lamenting the fact that we did not know about this earlier. We could have applied to our congressman for tickets, had we known. Since there were many politicians and naval officers attending, the security was tight, and we were soon approached by a very formidable looking gentleman with a wired earpiece and a conspicuous bulge under his black suit jacket.  We figured we would be asked to leave in short order.   Instead, the Secret Service agent asked us a few questions, and checked our identification. We told him we were just trying to find a good spot outside the fence to see the ceremony.  I guess he figured we were just a couple of harmless patriots, and he pulled out a couple of passes to the event, telling us to enjoy it! So we just strolled right in. Since it was early, and there was no reserved seating, we got seats in the third row. Dignitaries and politicians began to be seated on the platform, including Senator Kennedy and others.  Many of them made speeches with the usual platitudes, pretty boring, until they got to the keynote speaker, Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations.

Clark began by describing the capabilities of the U.S.S. Preble. He admitted to a top speed of over 30 knots, meaning she was probably capable of 50.  After describing what he was authorized to reveal about her mind boggling array of electronics, he said to the crowd, “Make no mistake about it- this ship will sail into harm’s way- and God help her enemies!”  Then he began explaining the ceremony, which was about to begin.  On both the Preble and the Constitution, their entire crews were on deck.  The crew of Old Ironsides was in period uniform, many way up in the ship’s rigging.  A piper sent whistle signals, which Clark said were to invite the Constitution’s crew aboard the new vessel. They descended from the rigging in perfect formation, with marvelous agility and grace, and boarded the Preble,
standing side by side with her crew.

Then there was dead silence. In a couple of minutes, the piper produced a solemn, haunting signal. Both crews saluted, facing the ancient warship. You could have heard a pin drop. Then Clark quietly explained that the piper was inviting the spirit of Commodore Preble to board this awesome “ship of the line,” the sixth naval vessel to bear his name. There was not a dry eye in the place.

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