Joe & Lena Tie Reef Knot

Welcome and thanks for reading today's blog.

Today's blog is written by Lena, who is the wife of crew member Joe Fern (in the above picture).   They recently held their wedding on the BROWN.  As you can tell from the pictures, the theme was vintage with some wonderful outfits, including Lena's dress and Joe's great hat.  Instead of tons of flowers, enormous ferns were set out on the ship (get it... Joe and Lena 'FERN') and the ship looked great.  But the guests looked even better, with many wearing outfits that looked like they came out of the 1940's. Joe and Lena are still waiting for their professional pictures but here are some that guests took that day, over a month ago.

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Joe Fern, an S.S. JOHN W. BROWN volunteer and member, and his now wife, Lena Stypeck Fern, got hitched last weekend among cheers and applause from not just their family and friends, but also the S.S. JOHN W. BROWN crew.

Our number one tween deck space is a great spot for events.    

“This is the most memorable wedding I’ve ever been to!” a number of guests exclaimed to the bride and groom as they walked by looking around at all the WWII Merchant Marine museum artifacts. As guests entered, they came aboard the 441.5 ft long authentic World War II Liberty ship and as they stepped off the gang-way into the 1940s, Big Band music played through the ship’s speakers while guests in 40s theme attire mingled.

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After cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres, guests were invited on tours of the S.S. John W. Brown by 20 patiently waiting docents who took guests on tours of the whole ship. After exploring the ship, guests returned for more drinks and dancing!

After working up a sweat and exhausting the bar, guests ventured upstairs to the main deck where we enjoyed the rest of the night watching a gorgeous sunset full of orange, purple, and pink hues hanging above us and the Baltimore Harbor. As we sipped post-dinner coffee, we could see Fort McHenry straight ahead and the lights of downtown reflecting off the water, which we took advantage by taking more pictures.

Guest disembarked with huge smiles, shaking the crews hand and thanking them for a wonderful time. You only get married once, but if one were to do it again, it would be here, on the S.S. JOHN W. BROWN.

~ Lena

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Trigger Happy

The JOHN W. BROWN was built with the express purpose of going to war. She was part of the worldwide logistics effort to support the United States and her allies. As an important part of the need to move men and material around the globe, merchant ships became prime targets for our enemies.

  The US began arming merchant ships with defensive armaments as an outgrowth of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. This Act had many provisions but one allowed for the government to start designing and building ships which were intended, from the beginning, to have not only self-defense weapons but the structures, such as munitions magazines, increased electrical , fire fighting and mechanical systems needed to support them.  The Liberty Ships were only one of the ship types which resulted from this effort.

  The JOHN W. BROWN, was armed with increasing amounts of weaponry as the 2nd World War progressed. She originally had a 5 in. 51 caliber main gun on the gun deck aft as her principal defense against enemy vessels. The 5 in. 51 caliber gun was developed sometime between the Spanish-American War and World War I and was intended for action against surface vessels. She also had anti-aircraft weapons which increased in number when she was designated for the Mediterranean theater, following the conversion to a partial troop transport.

  When the JOHN W. BROWN came to Baltimore in 1988 it was decided to find a weapon to place on the after gun deck to further the appearance of the ship as a WWII memorial. The major problem was that 5 in. 51 caliber guns had become incredibly rare. As a result a more modern weapon, a 5 in. 38 caliber, dual purpose gun, was found in the Reading Penn. Naval Reserve Center and it was in search of a new home!

  This gun mount was trucked to Baltimore and lifted onboard in the early 1990’s. This type of gun was shipped on many wartime merchant vessels and was appropriate as a substitution for the JOHN W. BROWN’s unobtainable vintage gun.

  An interesting part of naval weapons systems is that they are never given away but loaned to an organization for display. Thus they always belong to the Navy and U.S. Government. We are required, by the loan agreement, to maintain and display the artifact in a dignified and useful manner. As part of this commitment we have spent some of our recently awarded matching grant funds on renewing wasted steel on the gun mount deck. Every effort was made to preserve original parts where possible and reproduce material and instillation processes when necessary.

  Not only has the crew and our young weapons “Czar” Cameron M. been removing, restoring and repairing parts of the gun in conjunction with the steel work but they have started a major effort to repaint the gun and return it to pristine condition.

We welcomed some help from an interesting quarter. Young sailors, fresh out of “Boot Camp” and continuing their naval education as Public Information Officers, while at school at Fort Meade, volunteered to spend a day helping with anything we need assistance with. It seemed fitting that they should, in the spirit of the Naval Armed Guard, help with the weapons restoration and other associated displays. Bob Jackson and Cameron welcomed the group, gave them a tour of the ship and put them to work returning the 3 in. 50 caliber rounds to the ready service boxes on the upper gun deck, cleaning the M1 Garands,  as well as lending a hand with the work on the 5 in. 38 caliber main gun. In the spirit of our motto “if you feed them, they will come” Bob provided lunch for this group of newly minted sailors as his way of thanking them not only for giving us a hand but for their service to the nation.

  Soon the JOHN W. BROWN’s major defensive artifact will once again be ready for the public. There is even talk of making a canvas cover in order to protect the gun from the weather during the winter. But Cameron, Bob and the rest of the weapons gang won’t be idle long, there are three 3 in 50 caliber guns waiting for their time to shine.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Valve Maintenance

Valve Maintenance – A never ending task aboard ship

Hundreds of valves are present in the piping systems found on Liberty ships to control and direct the flow of fluids and gases, including steam, that are part of the ship’s engineering systems.  The proper operation of these valves is essential for the safety and efficient operation of the engineering plant.  A system of regular inspection, maintenance, and repair is necessary to ensure the valves operate as designed and this is included as a normal part of the ship’s work schedule. In other words, we'll be having some Coast Guard Inspections soon...  :)

Most of the engineering maintenance on JOHN W. BROWN is scheduled during the winter months when the ship is not steaming to conduct Living History Cruise and port visits.  This year’s valve maintenance effort is focused on the boiler-mounted valves.  These are valves located on the boilers or are the first valve from the boiler on a system connected to it and is subject to full boiler operating pressure (~200 psi for a Liberty ship).   Coast Guard requirements call for these valves to be removed from the boiler at periodic intervals for inspection and that milestone occurs this winter.

The valves are completely overhauled for the inspection.  This includes disassembly of the valve, cleaning the individual components, lapping the mating surfaces of the valve disc and seat to insure the valve doesn’t leak when shut, replacing the packing around the valve stem to prevent leaking around this part of the valve that is turned during operation, and replacing the gaskets where the valve is connected to the flange of adjacent piping.  If a part is found to be defective, it is repaired or replaced.  In addition, all the hardware used to secure the valve to the adjacent pieces of the piping system is being replaced with studs and bolts that are rated for the temperatures and pressures present in the system.

Volunteers have removed the first 16 valves and have begun overhauling them to prepare for inspection.  The valves include a range of sizes and designs.  As work is completed on the initial valves, additional ones subject to the inspection will be removed and overhauled in the coming weeks.  When the inspection is complete, the valves will be reinstalled on the boiler until the next inspection milestone.

This is just more proof that the work is ongoing and will never be done on the JOHN W BROWN.  We are always looking for individuals that are good with their hands and willing to help out. And no experience is needed.  Project Liberty Ship and our wonderful gray lady, is always doing on the job training in many different ways. On this specific day, there were men painting, grinding, disassembling, reassembling, making new gaskets, working with wire brushes and this was just in one section of the engine room. Thanks for reading and thanks for the interest in the SS JOHN W BROWN. 

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Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.