USS Olympia

Americans on and all . You are about to lose part of your glorious history if you don't watch out. Your US Navy has not funded the preservation of one of your nation's icons and it could be ignominiously scuttled as an artificial reef.

http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2010/05/23/uss-olympia-to-be-sunk-as-artificial-reef/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Olympia_(C-6)

"Plans were made to close Olympia to visitors on November 22, 2010, due to the poor material condition of the ship and a lack of operating funds.[36] These plans were scrapped, and Independence Seaport Museum agreed to keep the ship open with regular hours through 31 December, and then reduced hours through 31 March 2011.[37] The museum will hold a summit in early 2011 with the Navy, Navy Sea Systems Command, National Park Service, and the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission, to determine what steps can be taken to save the cruiser.[38]

Beginning in December 2010 the Navy Yard Association of Mare Island has initiated an effort to bring this national asset back home to the San Francisco Bay Area. Possible display sites include the former National Maritime Museum Association, which operates the USS PAMPANITO SS383 at Pier 45 in San Francisco; Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, where two dry docks have been set aside as a Heritage Park to include ship displays; Mare Island’s historic Dry Dock 1, which is envisioned for historic ship displays in planning documents; and the San Francisco Maritime Park, run by the National Park Service with over 4 million visitors/year."

C'mon Yanks, set to work and save your ship.