"The Proud Tradition"

This week in SSC:

"Statues and Monuments"

"The Proud Tradition" by Larry Anderson was completed in 1991 to honor Naval shipyard workers and commemorate 100 years of operation of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard here in Bremerton, Washington.

"In 1891 the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard opened for business. And since then, it’s not only been one of the town’s biggest employers, it has also played an important part in supporting the US Navy. During the Second World War, ships and vessels that had sustained damage in battle were brought to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for repair. And in the days since then, vessels have been sailed into Bremerton to be patched up, repaired, and even to be recycled, while the shipyard’s Submarine Recycling Program means the deactivating and disposing of nuclear compartments. It’s hard work. And it’s dangerous work. And to celebrate 100 years of that hard and dangerous work and the major part it plays in the life of many Bremerton families, this sculpture was put up. The man is called Clark, it says so on his hard-hat. The gift he’s giving the little boy in the baseball cap is a Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier. But more than that, he’s putting into the little boy’s hands the proud tradition of ship work upon which the town of Bremerton has thrived for well over a century. He’s putting into his hands the future."