This Week in Texas History
by BARTEE HAILE
The battleship Texas saw her first and only action of World War I on January 30, 1918, but the “Mighty T” would do her share of the fighting and then some when the next global conflict rolled around.
The U.S.S. Texas was, in fact, the third warrior of the waves to bear the name of the Lone Star State. The original was a cumbersome Confederate ironclad seized in 1865 by the northern navy and auctioned off to the highest bidder. The second served in the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century before her sacrifice to the cause of peacetime target practice.
The launching of the $5 million Texas in May 1912 was the first ever preserved on film. Hand-cranked movie cameras recorded the christening of the giant battlewagon in front of 15,000 spectators at Newport News, Virginia.
Formally commissioned in 1914, the maiden voyage of the Texas was tinged with irony. She stood watch as Marines under orders from President Woodrow Wilson landed at Veracruz to intervene in the chaotic Mexican Revolution.
Days after America’s belated entrance into the First World War, the Texas ran aground off the coast of Rhode Island. During the 72-hour attempt to free the beached behemoth, her famous motto was coined. “Come on, Texas!” the crew chanted in unison as the gray lady at last slipped back into the water.
On a routine patrol in January 1918, lookouts spotted the periscope of a German U-boat. The Texas fired at the submerged predator and swung hard to starboard to dodge the inevitable reply -- a torpedo. The encounter was the only taste of combat prior to the armistice that November.
Between the wars, the Texas did everything except haul coal to Newcastle. Ceremonial cruises, free rides for dignitaries and training exercises kept the officers and crew hopping. The brass was about to put the aging vessel out to pasture before a new day dawned on Dec. 7, 1941.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which destroyed or disabled a third of the U.S. fleet, the Texas was suddenly indispensable. She made the most of her new lease on life.
During the Second World War, duty called in both the European and Pacific theaters. Wherever the fighting was fiercest, the Texas was always there.
In November 1942, she took part in the massive invasion of North Africa, the opening phase of the Allied counterattack. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower made his stirring “Voice of Freedom” broadcast to Nazi-occupied France from the Texas.
It was back to Europe in the summer of ’44 for Operation Overlord. At noon on D-Day, the Texas ventured to within 3,000 yards of shore to pound German fortifications that were making the Normandy beach a casualty-strewn hell. Countless soldiers owed their survival to the battleship’s bombardment.
Although the Nazis’ days were numbered by late 1944, several bloody chapters remained in the Pacific drama. Her services no longer required in the Atlantic, the Texas hurried halfway around the world to finish the war.
She was on hand for the three-week ordeal at Iwo Jima, where 22,000 Japanese fanatically fought to the last man. Exhausted but exhilarated sailors watched from the deck of the Texas as Old Glory was raised in triumph on Mount Suribachi.
Following the surrender of Japan, the Texas sailed home in October 1945. Condemned to the scrap heap at the ripe old age of 33 by the traditional American certainty that each war was the last, she was decommissioned in preparation for a date with the cutting torch.
Meanwhile, as other states passed up the opportunity to adopt their naval namesakes, Texans jumped at the chance to save the “Mighty T.” The legislature went along with the idea but refused to provide the funds for the expensive project. The people themselves had to pick up the tab.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsored the fundraising drive, and screen stars Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell, both native Texans, filmed an appeal that played in movie theaters across the state. Schoolchildren donated dimes and their parent’s hard-earned dollars until the goal of $250,000 was reached.
Thousands of Texans gathered at the San Jacinto battleground on Apr. 21, 1948 to welcome home the beloved battleship. Gov. Beauford Jester, destined to die in office the next year, accepted the Texas on behalf of her rightful owners from Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who hailed from Fredricksburg.
Admiral Nimitz solemnly said in his presentation, “By demonstrating the fighting spirit of Texas to our enemies in two world wars, this gallant ship proved worthy of her name.”
Bartee Haile welcomes your comments, questions and suggestions at [email protected] or P.O. Box 152, Friendswood, TX 77549. And come on by www.twith.com for a visit!
