⚓︎ USS Edson: Preserving the Legacy of Service
Episode 205 • 28th March 2025 • Total Michigan • Cliff Duvernois
00:00:00 00:26:49

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When most people visit a museum, they walk through history. But aboard the USS Edson, you're walking inside it. In this episode, Navy veteran and lifelong Bay City resident Bill Randall takes us deep into the hull of a Vietnam-era destroyer—now a floating museum—and deeper still into the heart of what it means to serve, remember, and preserve.

From scavenging radar systems through old-school bartering (“we traded a torpedo for it”) to turning the ship into Michigan’s most haunted Halloween attraction, Bill and his dwindling crew of volunteers have spent over a decade keeping this legend alive—one paintbrush stroke, one ghost story, one overnight scout trip at a time.

More than a warship, the USS Edson is now a living monument, a place where memory, education, and community collide—moored just off the Saginaw River.

Links:

USS Edson Website: https://svnsm.com/

USS Edson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ussedsonmuseum

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Transcripts

Bill Randall:

Before they scrap all the ship, especially in Philadelphia, they

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give museum ships first crack at 'em.

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To get parts off of them.

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So we'll go over there, you know, for

three days for a week or whatever and,

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and try to get parts that we need.

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We have gotten like a radar from a

ship that was down in, uh, Louisiana.

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There was a radar that was down there.

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So we went down there, we traded, I don't

know, like a torpedo for it or whatever,

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and we brought it back

and put it up on the mast.

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Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone.

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Welcome back to Total Michigan, where

we interview Ordinary Michigans doing

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some pretty extraordinary things.

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I am your host Cliff DuVernois.

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So there's one thing

that I'm really proud of.

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Actually.

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There's a lot of things about

Michigan that I'm really proud of.

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One of the things that really hits home

to me, as well as to so many of you

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that are out there, is that we've all

had family members that at one point

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in time have decided to sacrifice self.

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For the good of us all, and that

is serving in our nation in one

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of the military, uh, branches

that are out there, and I salute.

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Every single person who has ever

decided to step forward and to

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make that sacrifice for all of us.

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And as I'm going around the state of

Michigan, one of the things that I

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like to do is I always like to take

a moment to look up what is perhaps

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some kind of a military museum or, or

something that might be historical that

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we could all just really appreciate.

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And more importantly, who are

the people that work so hard?

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To bring this history to life and

to remember the stories of the brave

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men and women who have actually

served our country with distinction.

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So today I find myself in Bay City

and I'm actually on the USS Edson.

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And sitting with me today is Bill Randall,

one of the chief volunteers that works

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here that takes everybody on a tour.

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Maybe you've actually met him

before 'cause he is the guy.

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But Bill, how are you?

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Bill Randall: Well, thank you.

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Thanks very much.

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Welcome aboard.

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Thank you.

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It's great to have you here.

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Cliff Duvernois: so Bill, if you

would, why don't you tell us.

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What is the USS Edson?

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Bill Randall: Okay.

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The Edson is a, uh, Vietnam era

destroyer navy destroyer that

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served 10, 10 tours in Vietnam.

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She had a, a, a lifespan of

years from:

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is when it was decommissioned.

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The Edson kind of has a, a, a, the

relationship of Bay City is that Bay

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City used to have Defo ship building

on the Saginaw River, and they built

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ships very, very similar to the Edson.

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And, uh, I remember Juanita used to watch

'em go down there and launch those ships.

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But, that, and for recruiting purposes

and for educational purposes and trying

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to preserve our history is why we're here.

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Cliff Duvernois: And so now for the

Edson, was it actually built here?

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Where was it built?

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Bill Randall: No, the Edson was

actually built in Bath, Maine.

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Okay, okay.

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that was built in Bath,

Maine or somewhere.

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a lot of these ships were,

this is a Forest Sherman class.

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Destroyer were built in, say, the

Washington Navy shipyard, but these

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were built on the East Coast, and

originally there were 18 of these ships.

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Okay.

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Cliff Duvernois: So let's take

a step back here for a second.

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bill, where are you from?

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Where did you grow

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Bill Randall: up?

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Okay.

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I grew up here in Bay City my whole life.

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I spent in Bay City, but I joined the

pon graduating high school in:

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I know that's a long time ago,

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Cliff Duvernois: not that long ago.

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Yeah, I know.

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Yeah.

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But I,

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Bill Randall: I, I joined a Navy because

I, I wanted to get training in a specific

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job and I wanted to see some of the world

through the pour hole, I guess, because

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that's what I saw through the pour hole.

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But, that's why I went in.

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I spent six years in the

Navy and that's why I'm here.

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Thank.

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Thank you for your support.

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I really appreciate that.

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Absolutely.

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So, I've been, been around a lot of

different places, seen a lot of things.

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I've done a lot of things as a

young man, I don't regret it.

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I've learned an awful lot and I wouldn't

give it up for a million bucks, but

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that's why I am here to convey to, people

that come on board to convey what it

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was like to actually have to do this.

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Because people don't have an understanding

of what it's like to have to serve on

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something like this is a whole different.

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Lifestyle.

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And, uh, it's very, very regimented,

for a young man to get disciplined

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Cliff Duvernois: discipline

where you got it.

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You, uh, definitely.

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So, because I, I know you were

taking me on the tour of this, uh,

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earlier, before we sat down to do the

interview, and it is amazing to me.

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First off, I, I, I think

my head would be hurting.

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I noticed that it was too tall.

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I noticed that too.

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Always.

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I, the whole time.

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Yeah.

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But the, the, just the close quarters.

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Yeah.

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And it, it's amazing.

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'cause then you got, you

got people going both ways.

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Yes.

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You know, down those particular hols.

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Yeah.

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So, you know, you were talking

before about making the adjustment.

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What was like, maybe like one

of the biggest adjustments

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that, that really like,

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Bill Randall: Well the big, one of the

biggest one I have to say is being away

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from home and being away from your loves.

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But on board the ship.

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You know, you had, well this particular

ship at about 270 people on board,

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And you're always in somebody's way,

especially passing through a passageway,

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excuse me, pardon me, excuse me.

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Pardon me.

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But you have to think this.

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When the ship like this goes to

combat readiness, when they announce

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combat stations in general quarters,

people on the ship are on a dead run.

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So trying to run through a ship like

this, it takes some practice to do this

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because you're gonna trip on something

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Cliff Duvernois: rather.

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Yep, yep.

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And this is not only just, running down

these really thin, ho hallways, it's.

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Going up ladders up, ladders

down, ladder down ladders.

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And, and some of them are Yeah.

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Like straight up and down.

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Yes.

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Some of 'em are.

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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Bill Randall: But you have to think

too, Cliff that most of the people on

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this ship, when I came on board these

ships, they were about 19 years old.

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That's the majority of the people.

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So we're pretty agile.

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we're, we thought we were

bulletproof back then.

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I couldn't do it today.

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Yeah, right.

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Well, we, we knew everything

there was to know back then.

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Yeah.

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I said absolutely.

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Yeah.

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Yep.

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Yeah, it's, it's definitely a change of

lifestyle, but when you go to bootcamp,

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they teach you how to become from a

civilian to a team member because you have

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to work as a unit, onboard these ships.

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Uh, things can go wrong very,

very fast, and your life would

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depend upon something like that.

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So you have to pick it up pretty quick.

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Cliff Duvernois: So you were telling me

before about, for this particular ship

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now, 'cause it was built in Maine, right?

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How did it come to Bay City?

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Bill Randall: Okay.

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The, the story is this ship used to

be a museum ship in New York City.

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It was part of the Intrepid

Airspace Museum and.

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It was there for 13 years and they

had let this go because most of

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the funding and attention went to

the aircraft carrier, the Intrepid.

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So they let this one go and they

put it into a mothball fleet in

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Philadelphia where it's scheduled to

be scrapped at some point in time.

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I.

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It was sitting there for a number of

years out in the, uh, out in the weather.

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So when we out it here, it was

really, really in bad condition.

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But what we did is we towed this

up, out of Philadelphia, up to St.

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Lawrence Seaway, and it took

about three weeks to, uh, to

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get her here by two tugboats.

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And that has been almost 13 years ago.

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So we've been here for

almost 13 years now.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, what was the,

I guess, what was the decision?

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'cause I mean, you really could have.

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Well, I, I don't, I'm not gonna say

you could have parked any boat here.

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Right.

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But you, any number of other

ships that you had a choice.

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Right.

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So what was it about the Edson?

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Bill Randall: Well, this means

that she's a destroyer, here in Bay

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City, used to be a ship building

company called Defoe Ship Building.

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And they had employed, God, probably

about:

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working 24 hours a day around the clock.

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And they built destroyers very

similar to this ship here in Bay City.

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Ah, okay.

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Cliff Duvernois: Okay.

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So it took them three weeks to get here.

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Yeah.

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Finally gets here.

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Yep.

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And.

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You were saying before, I, I believe

you mentioned it was like, like we, like

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Bay City had to write a check for about

three quarters of a million dollars.

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Bill Randall: Well, it wasn't Bay City.

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Bay City didn't write

a check for anything.

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We did.

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The, the Saginaw Valley Naval

Ship Museum owns this ship.

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This does not belong to Bay City.

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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We are actually, we are

actually in Bangor Township.

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Is where we're, where, where we're at.

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Yep.

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Uh, the other side of

the bridge is Bay City.

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So, yeah, it was a, it was a lot of

spaghetti dinners, Cliff, and I don't,

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I don't eat spaghetti anymore, you

know, but yeah, it was, it was, it was

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donations and grants and some, some of

the volunteers was their own money put

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into this thing because when the ship

got here, we had, about 35 volunteers.

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And all of us that work

here we're all volunteers.

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Right.

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And today we have about six

people taking care of her is

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'cause we're dying off basically.

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And people are leaving and it's, it

is been so, so many years, but, uh,

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trying to get some new volunteers here,

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Cliff Duvernois: It's a little difficult.

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Right.

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Yeah.

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So let me ask you this question here.

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'cause you know, the ship

comes in, it's docked.

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You were talking about

35 volunteers, right?

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Yep.

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At this point in time, you've

done your service, right?

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Yep.

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And you know, you've gotten out, you've

transitioned over to civilian life.

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What was it that made you say, you

know, I wanna be a part of this?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Bill Randall: I guess this is, I

have this fascination of ships.

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I've always had a fascination.

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That's basically why I

went in the Navy too.

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But it's a, it's a, a labor of love

trying to keep this, like I say, trying

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to convey the message to people who don't

know what it's like to have to do this.

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That's my main function

here, besides painting.

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But, uh, and that's the

reason that I'm here.

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And I, that's why when it got here,

that's why I joined this volunteer team.

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I.

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Just to take care of her.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, when you're talking

about, 'cause you, you made, you made a

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comment before about when it got here,

it sat, it was sending de mothball Right.

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And it was in pretty rough shape.

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Yes.

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So now your, your organization

already wrote a check Yeah.

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For three quarters of a million dollars.

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Yeah.

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To get the ship here.

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I can imagine it's a pretty penny.

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Bill Randall: It is.

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Well, it's just trying to get it here.

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Like I said, there's two tugboats and

I, I might be wrong, but I, I wanna

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say they were outta Louisiana and it's,

one of 'em was an ocean going tug.

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So it taught, you know, it cost a

lot just in fuel just to get it here.

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But, uh, it took years.

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I.

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To, to raise that kind of money.

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'cause this was actually

started, I wanna say like:

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So it took years to raise that

kind of money to get it here.

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Yeah.

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uh, as it went along naturally, the

group got bigger and bigger 'cause

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they wanna see it come in here.

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But, yeah, now it's, uh, now it's here.

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Like I say, taking care of

her is an undaunting task.

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She's like, uh, she takes a

big bite when she takes a bite.

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It's a really, really big

bite in the, in the finances.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, I bet.

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Bill Randall: Yeah.

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Yeah,

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Cliff Duvernois: I bet.

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Yeah.

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Now, what was it, you know,

coming on here for you anyways?

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'cause I know there's.

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you didn't serve on the exit?

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No, I did not.

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No.

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By other two ships, right?

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Yep.

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What is coming on here, what was that like

feeling for you after all those years?

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Bill Randall: It's like, uh, it

brings back a lot of memories.

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It really does.

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'cause I was, I was mentioning

earlier, even, even the smell of an

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inside of a Navy ship smells exactly

the same as every other Navy ship.

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It's the same grease, same

paint, same oil, same everything.

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So it still smells the same, but being

back on the ship, To me, it's a thrill.

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I love being here.

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I love showing her off.

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But yeah, it's, it's, it's a good time.

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Cliff Duvernois: And when we were walking

around, uh, before Don, you were showing

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me all the different areas of the ship

or whatever it is, and it was almost like

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in some way, like if I was watching us

through like the lens of a movie mm-hmm.

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Like I could almost like turn

and see like crewman Yes.

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Standing there.

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Yes, absolutely.

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Somebody coming down the.

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Stairs.

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Yeah.

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Slide and stuff.

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And I imagine for you there's a

lot of those types of memories.

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Bill Randall: There is.

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There is.

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I still try to get down the slide, down

the stairways, you know, you know, it's

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just the, the sudden stop at the end that

I, you know, my, my brain says yes, but

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my body says, no, don't do that anymore.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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Bill Randall: But yeah, it's just

because in her 30 year career, she

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had a lot of crew members in here.

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Oh, I bet.

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Yeah.

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Yep.

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She was stationed in, uh,

Long Beach, California.

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And after Vietnam, they transferred over

to, uh, Rhode Island, and it became a

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training vessel for Navy reservists.

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And it was there for, uh,

I forgot, umpteen years.

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And then they just let it go and

became a museum in New York City.

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Cliff Duvernois: Wow.

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Yep.

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So now you were talking before there,

there's a sister ship to this one

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that's located in Yeah, Bremerton.

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It's in Bremerton, Washington.

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Okay.

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Bill Randall: Yeah.

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It's the USS Turner Joy.

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And it's the same class as the ship.

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Matter of fact, it's a mirror image

of the ship, and it is also a museum.

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Now.

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She's been out there a little

longer than we've been here.

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Right.

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But they're right next door to a shipyard.

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So getting supplies.

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It's pretty easy, you know,

find the spare parts for Edson.

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Eh?

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It is a little, little tough,

you know, if you don't make

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'em, you gotta try to find them.

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Cliff Duvernois: Well, you

don't have a Home Depot.

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Bill Randall: No, no, no, no.

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They don't sell.

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They don't sell radars at Home Depot.

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Cliff Duvernois: And now as far as.

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As the ship goes, we're talking

about, you know, you brought it here,

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you've done all this volunteer work

at any point in time, like how, how

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many volunteers were working on this?

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Because I could imagine there could

be like a lot of people there.

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Bill Randall: Yeah, there

were a lot of people.

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And sometimes we'll get scouts

over here that'll, they'll

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work on the ship for the day I.

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Just to stay on the ship at night.

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Oh, okay.

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So we kind of trade, you know,

volunteer work hours, right.

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For, to stay on the ship.

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But, uh, over her, over, uh, 12 plus

years here, there's been quite a few

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volunteers that have been here naturally.

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The people that are here all the

time, like I say, we're down to about

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six people that are here constantly.

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But through, through the

course of the years, yeah.

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We have people stop by and they, uh,

asked me, well, what do you want?

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What do you want me to do?

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And I said, show up.

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That's all you gotta do.

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You know, there's a

million things to do here.

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So, yeah.

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if people are looking for, they have to,

if they have to do volunteer work like our

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schools do, they'll come here and they'll

work and get their volunteer hours in.

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So we've had, uh, like Eagle

Scouts do projects on the ship.

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So through the years yeah.

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We've had people come over and, and

do a little bit of work and, you know,

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trying to get 'em to stay, you know?

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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Bill Randall: Yeah.

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These days it's kind of hard.

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So, like pulling teeth

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Cliff Duvernois: I bet.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And before you made a comment too,

and I want to chase that down.

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If something does break on the ship

or need to be replaced, whatever.

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It's Right.

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Where do you get parts?

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Bill Randall: We make 'em, if we make 'em

or we, uh, we go to one of the shipyards

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if we can get it, because shipyards,

there's a navy yard in Philadelphia

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that has, uh, a warehouse that has

nothing with parts, but trying, trying

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to get it, uh, is, is kind of hard too.

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A lot of the stuff we do ourselves.

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or we have gotten like a radar from a

ship that was down in, uh, Louisiana.

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There was a radar that was down there.

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So we went down there, we traded, I don't

know, like a torpedo for it or whatever,

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and we brought it back

and put it up on the mast.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, Torp.

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You give you a raise.

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Bill Randall: Yeah, exactly.

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Yeah.

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It's trading, trading material.

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But uh, that's gotta be

cool thinking all around.

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Well, once a year when they, when

they, before they scrap all the ship,

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especially in Philadelphia, they

give museum ships first crack at 'em.

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To get parts off of them.

393

:

So we'll go over there, you know, for

three days for a week or whatever and,

394

:

and try to get parts that we need.

395

:

But now you're in competition with about

50 other ships, so it's a mad dash, you

396

:

know, it's like they, they, they hit the

starter's pistol and man, everybody's

397

:

running, trying to get some parts.

398

:

And, and we did a few years ago.

399

:

Yeah.

400

:

And it was, uh, it was in.

401

:

Philadelphia and it was in January

and it was really, really cold.

402

:

Sweet Moses.

403

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

404

:

Philadelphia In January.

405

:

Yes.

406

:

Yep.

407

:

So we got some parts off of

it and we brought 'em back.

408

:

But, finding some of the major parts,

they just don't make 'em anymore.

409

:

So we have to kind of, uh,

uh, make our own or make

410

:

something that's similar to it.

411

:

but just basically it's just

for a static display usually.

412

:

As long as it looks like it, you know.

413

:

There you go.

414

:

Cliff Duvernois: That's the part.

415

:

Awesome.

416

:

Hell yeah.

417

:

For our audience, we're gonna

take a quick break and thank

418

:

our sponsors when we come back.

419

:

Uh, bill is gonna continue to

dazzle us with his brilliance

420

:

and sharing us some really cool

stories about, uh, the USS Edson.

421

:

And, uh, we will see you after the break.

422

:

Are you enjoying this episode?

423

:

Well, I can tell you

there's a lot more to come.

424

:

Jump over to TotalMichigan.

425

:

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426

:

You'll get a list of the top

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427

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Along with that, you'll get

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428

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429

:

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430

:

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431

:

Hello everyone.

432

:

Welcome back to Total Michigan, where

we interview Ordinary Michigans doing

433

:

some pretty extraordinary things.

434

:

I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

435

:

Today we're having a very animated

interview with Bill, with, with

436

:

Bill Randall, uh, on the USS, Edson.

437

:

Bill, before the break we were talking

about how you got the ship back here,

438

:

you had all these volunteers that

were working on the boat, bringing it,

439

:

restoring it, back to as pristine, as

conditioned as you could possibly get.

440

:

Bill Randall: Yes.

441

:

Yep.

442

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now, with it

being in, pristine shape, why

443

:

don't you talk to us about.

444

:

Some of the different ways that you

try to get the community involved,

445

:

try to get people to the ship.

446

:

What are some of the different Okay.

447

:

Events

448

:

Bill Randall: that you do, whatever?

449

:

We're, we're, we have all

kinds of events here, Cliff.

450

:

We've had, uh, like I was telling

you, we have six weddings here.

451

:

We've had, uh, high school graduation.

452

:

Parties here.

453

:

We've had business meetings here.

454

:

if you have an event, you can

actually take the ship for the day

455

:

if you wanna do something like that.

456

:

But we have all kinds of events.

457

:

We have a lot of overnight stays.

458

:

A lot of scouting groups come here.

459

:

Oh, that's amazing.

460

:

Yep.

461

:

Yep.

462

:

A lot of school groups, uh, we have

the, uh, sea Cadets, they come here and,

463

:

uh, these are kids that are eventually

gonna join the Navy outta school.

464

:

And when they come here, naturally they're

in uniform and we take advantage of that.

465

:

'cause when, when they spend the

night, we had one of our volunteers

466

:

show naturally we have someone from

the museum spend the night with them.

467

:

And what he did was he took a fog machine,

he fogged a couple of other spaces

468

:

inside, and about three o'clock in the

morning he run a fire drill on them.

469

:

And they had to find a mannequin

somewhere in that smoke,

470

:

simulating a fireboard ship.

471

:

And they didn't, they did.

472

:

Yeah.

473

:

They didn't know they were gonna have it.

474

:

But yeah.

475

:

As far as events, we've had,

like I say, weddings and parties

476

:

and, and we do a lot of, uh.

477

:

Paranormal events, believe

it or not, that are here.

478

:

Oh, I bet.

479

:

I bet you this place is just

480

:

Cliff Duvernois: a high

paranormal activity.

481

:

It is, it is.

482

:

Bill Randall: It is.

483

:

even the general public will be

walking through and someone will tell

484

:

me, well, something pulled my hair.

485

:

Some, something tapped me on the

shoulder and they'll ask me, well,

486

:

is, is this place haunted or not?

487

:

I say, well, you know,

why do you say that?

488

:

Because if something, that

might have happened to 'em.

489

:

But, uh, yeah, we have a lot of that stuff

and, and people spend the night here.

490

:

some people, if they run

into paranormal events.

491

:

Won't spend a night here.

492

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

493

:

Their intention was to do that, but

they won't be spending a night here.

494

:

But yeah, we do all kinds

495

:

Cliff Duvernois: of events here.

496

:

Bill Randall: Yep.

497

:

Cliff Duvernois: And actually, 'cause

you talked about the paranormal thing.

498

:

The last time that I was here was during

one of your Halloween events, right?

499

:

Yes.

500

:

Where you just turned into like

some kind of a haunted ship.

501

:

Yes.

502

:

And

503

:

Bill Randall: yeah.

504

:

Cliff Duvernois: People hiding throughout

and the little maze that you had to

505

:

Bill Randall: walk through.

506

:

Yeah, sure.

507

:

Sure.

508

:

We have, uh people that

come in and do that.

509

:

And uh, it's a huge hit.

510

:

It has been rated one of the number

ones in Michigan, the state of

511

:

Michigan, and it is huge because

they'll take the ship at the end of

512

:

September and all the way through

October to the first week of November.

513

:

And it is amazing the work that these

guys do it, they put into this thing.

514

:

It's, I've been through it a

few times and it's scared me.

515

:

Yeah.

516

:

Oh yeah.

517

:

Cliff Duvernois: It's great.

518

:

It's fantastic.

519

:

It's gonna be interesting, yeah.

520

:

To be able to come in and see the

ship from a completely different,

521

:

it is angle, I mean, it's the same

ship, but now that you've got, yeah.

522

:

If you were talking before about

you've got laser lights and.

523

:

Right.

524

:

Yeah.

525

:

Yeah.

526

:

You know, people hiding the steel.

527

:

Yeah.

528

:

Bill Randall: Live

529

:

Cliff Duvernois: actors.

530

:

Yeah.

531

:

Bill Randall: Yeah.

532

:

Well, it's, uh, it's, it's kind

of neat the way they do that,

533

:

but, I worked it for four years.

534

:

I did it.

535

:

Yeah.

536

:

I, it was fantastic.

537

:

It was a lot of fun.

538

:

And, uh, for a pun we say, we scared

the ship outta you is what we do.

539

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

540

:

It's huge.

541

:

Yeah.

542

:

And so with all these events that are

going on here, and there's a couple

543

:

more that I wanna circle back to,

but you mentioned something, during

544

:

the break that I really wanna hit in.

545

:

TripAdvisor Loves

546

:

Bill Randall: you.

547

:

Yeah.

548

:

Loves, yes.

549

:

And we are actually the number one thing

to see in Bay City, and we're rated as

550

:

the number one thing to visit in Bay City.

551

:

So we get a lot of people naturally

looking for something to do

552

:

and they'll go to TripAdvisor.

553

:

And we have, for the past

few years now, we've had the

554

:

number one rating in Bay City.

555

:

We have a lot of people that come

here in the summertime, which

556

:

also brings in a lot of commerce.

557

:

For Bay City.

558

:

we're actually located in Bangor

Township, but people stay at the hotels.

559

:

We have a map in the office.

560

:

It's a world map and we give visitors a

pin to put in that map where they're from.

561

:

There's all kinds of 'em in

Europe that have come over here.

562

:

Really?

563

:

We've had people from, from Russia.

564

:

We've had people from all

over the world come here.

565

:

You know, some people may, might

have an interpreter of them.

566

:

You know, you got a good,

a group of six people only.

567

:

Yeah.

568

:

Only one will speak English.

569

:

Yeah.

570

:

Yeah.

571

:

So that makes for a long tour.

572

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

573

:

Yep.

574

:

But yeah, we bring a

lot of people in here.

575

:

That is absolutely great.

576

:

Yep.

577

:

And now to, to go back to a couple

things that you said before, people

578

:

could stay the night on the ship.

579

:

Yes.

580

:

So if we're talking about, people like

what is like the largest group that

581

:

you've ever had versus what's, okay?

582

:

You could like.

583

:

Yep.

584

:

A couple come and stay.

585

:

Right.

586

:

Bill Randall: Last summer we

had a, a group of 98 people.

587

:

Cliff Duvernois: Sweet Bulls.

588

:

Bill Randall: Yeah.

589

:

Yeah.

590

:

And, uh, yeah, they all spent the night

ship and there was a conglomeration of

591

:

different scout groups that were here, but

they were dispersed throughout the ship.

592

:

And what they do is they

stay in the cruise quarters.

593

:

That's what they actually sleep to get

the full, full effect of what it was like.

594

:

Two weekends ago we had 60

people on board, and that's

595

:

about as much as you wanna get.

596

:

'cause 90, 90 some people that's, that's.

597

:

Too many.

598

:

Yeah.

599

:

Yeah.

600

:

Then you gotta keep tab and little

Johnny's out on the deck gonna

601

:

jump over the side or whatever.

602

:

So you gotta keep tats on these people.

603

:

But yeah, we are able to accommodate very,

very large groups and we do, down to a

604

:

group of five people, even the general

public, if you wanna stay on board a

605

:

ship, if you have a group of five people

or more, we'll give you a group rate.

606

:

So that's what we do.

607

:

And if we've had five people,

you know, a family come on board,

608

:

Cliff Duvernois: so what

does that look like?

609

:

If somebody's gonna come spend the night,

is it, You got the beds already made.

610

:

There's a mint on a pillow.

611

:

You gotta bring a sleeping bag.

612

:

How does that work?

613

:

Bill Randall: No, no mitts on the pillow.

614

:

This is not princess

Screw, like Yeah, yeah.

615

:

We don't have a buffet here.

616

:

This the navy?

617

:

Yeah, that's right.

618

:

Yeah.

619

:

well, the rocks have a mattress

on 'em and they're, they're

620

:

washable mattresses on it.

621

:

But all you gotta do is, is

bring your, bring your sleeping

622

:

bag and your pillow and or your

623

:

Cliff Duvernois: blanket or

whatever you, you're good to go.

624

:

Nice.

625

:

Yeah.

626

:

Because a lot of the, a lot of

the bunks that you had down there

627

:

when you were showing me before

actually have like a mattress there.

628

:

Bill Randall: Yes.

629

:

They all on

630

:

Cliff Duvernois: there.

631

:

We do all the beds

632

:

Bill Randall: on the ship,

do have a mattress on 'em.

633

:

In the, in the officer state room where

I showed them they have a bigger bed.

634

:

So a lot of people will take those

state rooms, you know, it's kind of the,

635

:

the premium thing on board the ship.

636

:

But, yeah, we, they get the full

experience, you know, ly you can get up.

637

:

We have all, uh, some of 'em we offer

continental breakfast, so we have that.

638

:

And if we're gonna say feed the scouts,

we got all kinds of pizza over here.

639

:

So it's, it's a big deal.

640

:

Yeah.

641

:

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, I can just imagine

a, a pizza delivery showing up to the

642

:

ship with all these pizzas in there.

643

:

'cause if you've got like 60

kids Yes man, they can, oh,

644

:

they go burn shoes and pizza.

645

:

Absolutely.

646

:

Yeah, they do.

647

:

Yep, yep.

648

:

Yes they do.

649

:

so one of the things I wanna circle

back to is when we're talking about

650

:

like restoring the ship, when of

the things that really impresses

651

:

me is how much of the ship.

652

:

Still functions.

653

:

It still Okay.

654

:

Works.

655

:

Like you were talking about right

before you were sharing with me

656

:

about the lathe machine, right?

657

:

Yeah.

658

:

Yeah.

659

:

So talk to us a little bit about

why it's important to make sure

660

:

that the stuff still works.

661

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

662

:

Why not just have it on stand display?

663

:

Bill Randall: Well, most Navy

shifts a, as you know, they have

664

:

a machine shop onto repair parts.

665

:

Mm-hmm.

666

:

The machine shop that's on the

Edson is a working machine shop.

667

:

The machinery that's in there

does work and I still use it.

668

:

Uh, that's what I did

when I was in the Navy.

669

:

So every now and then, if I had to make

a job for a ship, I'll make it there.

670

:

most everything in the galley,

in the, in the, the, the

671

:

kitchen so to speak, does work.

672

:

And we have used it at certain times.

673

:

some of the heat and some of

the state rooms does work.

674

:

I didn't tell you that.

675

:

Yeah.

676

:

But, uh, there's a lot of working

things on, on board a ship.

677

:

It's kind of a hands-on thing.

678

:

Kids come aboard.

679

:

They wanna push this

and pull that and Yeah.

680

:

We have a lot of things

that are, are working.

681

:

Some of the phones, some of the,

uh, the sound power telephones, they

682

:

work on the sound of your voice.

683

:

Right.

684

:

Some of them work.

685

:

And when you dial up one of

the rooms that you're not.

686

:

Out by you see somebody walk

by it and that phone rings

687

:

saying it gets your attention.

688

:

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, I bet.

689

:

Yeah.

690

:

Yeah, I bet.

691

:

And you're also sharing too, that

for a lot of the parts that were on

692

:

the ship for people that were working

here, and, and it just goes without

693

:

saying, but back in the day, I.

694

:

The l The volume?

695

:

Yeah.

696

:

Like the noise.

697

:

Yes.

698

:

That could be created.

699

:

Yes.

700

:

The steam that was created.

701

:

Yes.

702

:

You were talking about

like a lot of steam power.

703

:

Yes.

704

:

Yeah.

705

:

On this ship.

706

:

Yeah.

707

:

You know, when you think about

ships, now that's, everybody thinks,

708

:

oh, it's all nuclear clear, right?

709

:

Yeah.

710

:

This

711

:

Bill Randall: was all steam.

712

:

Yeah.

713

:

Yeah.

714

:

But even on a nuclear ship,

it's just another way to heat

715

:

water that you don't, yeah.

716

:

You don't have to refuel

that for 30 years though.

717

:

But it's another way to heat water

that goes through a turbine that drives

718

:

now electric motors, where on board

it was all mechanical on the ship.

719

:

But yeah.

720

:

The, the ship is, it's

like a living thing.

721

:

And when you're out at sea and you're

bouncing around at sea, the, the

722

:

ship has a, a certain vibe to it

and a certain noise, and it's when

723

:

you don't feel that, and when you

don't hear that something is wrong.

724

:

Yeah.

725

:

You know, because

726

:

Cliff Duvernois: it's

like a living creature.

727

:

yes.

728

:

You know, the, the, so the parallel

that I draw to that is, uh,

729

:

driving down the road to my car.

730

:

Yeah.

731

:

And all of a sudden, like

something doesn't feel right.

732

:

Yes.

733

:

You know, like there's like an extra noise

and it's there or is not there, right?

734

:

Yes.

735

:

Right.

736

:

Someone's like, uh oh.

737

:

Yeah.

738

:

You go, I wanna take a look at it.

739

:

What is that?

740

:

What, what is that?

741

:

Bill Randall: Did I just

lose a tire or what?

742

:

What's going on there?

743

:

Yeah.

744

:

Yeah.

745

:

I

746

:

Cliff Duvernois: don't think

747

:

Bill Randall: I lost the tire.

748

:

Yeah.

749

:

Yeah.

750

:

Well, this ship is compared, like

I say, 270 enlisted men on, on

751

:

onboard the ship versus an aircraft

carrier carries 5,000 people.

752

:

That is a small, that's a small city.

753

:

That's a small city that's, you could be

there a long time and not know everybody.

754

:

Yeah.

755

:

Yeah.

756

:

Yeah.

757

:

Or

758

:

Cliff Duvernois: this one, you

got to know just about everybody.

759

:

So actually, let me ask you this question.

760

:

if the Edson or, another ship

like to set out the sea, how

761

:

long could you stay out then?

762

:

you could probably stay out

763

:

Bill Randall: there for a good

six months because what you

764

:

do is you replenish at sea.

765

:

So if you're, you say you, you,

uh, expanded all your ammunition.

766

:

You, you run out of food, you will

actually have a supply ship come alongside

767

:

and you're cruising alongside this

other ship and they run over in what's

768

:

called a highline, to get food and, and

ammunition and stuff of, of that nature.

769

:

So you can still see

for a long, long time.

770

:

So

771

:

Cliff Duvernois: basically if to, to

kinda like couch it from another turn.

772

:

Well, no, because you can not only

get food, but you can also get fuel.

773

:

Bill Randall: Yes.

774

:

Right.

775

:

Cliff Duvernois: That's where he took on

776

:

Bill Randall: fuel.

777

:

This ship particularly took on, fuel

about once a week because at 47 gallons of

778

:

fuel to the mile, he burned up some fuel.

779

:

Sweet.

780

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

781

:

227,000 gallons of fuel.

782

:

Yep.

783

:

That's amazing.

784

:

Yeah.

785

:

What was

786

:

Cliff Duvernois: the top speed again?

787

:

Bill Randall: It was 36

knots, about 41 miles an hour.

788

:

So that was, that was.

789

:

Pretty fast.

790

:

Yeah, that's hauling.

791

:

There's some boats on the river

that don't go that fast, but yeah.

792

:

That's, that's moving.

793

:

Yeah.

794

:

You're cutting through

water pretty, pretty

795

:

Cliff Duvernois: fast.

796

:

Awesome.

797

:

Now, if somebody is coming here, they've

never been here before, What would be some

798

:

of the things that you would recommend?

799

:

Like if you're gonna spend

some time on the ship, this

800

:

is what I recommend you see.

801

:

Bill Randall: Okay.

802

:

Actually, it, it was the, the

cruise birthing to see how

803

:

people lived onboard the ship.

804

:

Nice.

805

:

the engineering spaces, like the

engine rooms, it's unlike anything

806

:

that you can even imagine with, you

know, how that was put together.

807

:

and seeing what it was

like to work in there.

808

:

some of the weapons systems, and

the, the galley, I mean, there's.

809

:

There's probably 90% of this ship

that's open to the public, and

810

:

if you wanted to schedule a, a

guided tour, we'll get you in some

811

:

spaces that people don't get to go.

812

:

And we've done that before,

so it worked out rather well.

813

:

Cliff Duvernois: Nice.

814

:

Yeah.

815

:

And so Bill, if somebody

is listening to this Yeah.

816

:

They wanna come and check out Sure.

817

:

The USS Edson.

818

:

Yep.

819

:

how can they find you?

820

:

What's the best way to do that?

821

:

Okay.

822

:

Bill Randall: On our website is

Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum.

823

:

The website is S-V-S-N-M stands for

Saginaw Valley Naval ship museum.com

824

:

is our website.

825

:

Okay.

826

:

And we also, uh, uh, on a Facebook,

we have a Facebook page also, but if

827

:

you wanted to say purchase tickets.

828

:

Buy, uh, merchandise from the,

from the store, or whatever.

829

:

You can do that on our website.

830

:

We have all our numbers and it's,

it's an interactive website, so

831

:

you can do an awful lot on it.

832

:

Perfect.

833

:

Yeah.

834

:

And now where can they, where

can they find you on a map?

835

:

Okay.

836

:

On a map we are on, if, if you, uh,

put in, uh, Google Maps, whatever,

837

:

we are actually in Bangor Township.

838

:

and you can get here off the

expressway, down Wilder Road.

839

:

Toll bring you right into here.

840

:

So it's easy to find.

841

:

Perfect.

842

:

Yep.

843

:

Bill, thank you

844

:

Cliff Duvernois: so much for

taking time to chat with us today.

845

:

Absolute appreciate ly.

846

:

Thanks, Cliff.

847

:

It was great having you here.

848

:

Yeah, absolutely loved it.

849

:

Yeah.

850

:

Great.

851

:

For our audience, you can always

roll on over to Total Michigan.com

852

:

and click on Bill's interview and get

the links that he mentioned above.

853

:

We will see you next time.

854

:

Yeah.

855

:

When we talk to another Michigan or

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

856

:

We'll see you then.

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