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The Marines’ selection of a permanent location to display Nicholas’s ship’s bell with a descriptive plaque presented several opportunities.
Above: Nicholas’ ship’s bell at Center House.
Below: the 12-inch bellrope by Vince Brennan (below) was made with a ringbolt hitched eye on a brass thimble. The four-step body with cotton fender-hitched cover carries seven varnished turks heads (for the seven seas) and is capped by a triple (12x9x6) varnished star knot at the end with three small star knots inserted into the body, each representing ten of the Nick’s thirty battle stars. Top-to-bottom, the turks heads are 3x5 square (three-pass), 5x4 square (three-pass), 7x6 square (three-pass), 3x9 square (four-pass), 9x8 square (three-pass), 3x9 square (four-pass) and an 11x10 square (three-pass). The bellrope took about 30 hours to complete.
RECONDITIONING THE BELL
Photo courtesy Warren Gabelman collection.
Nicholas’s ship’s bell at its former position on the Marine Barracks Washington parade deck.
A first consideration was preparing the 60-lb. bell. During wartime, naturally, reflection was something to be avoided, so the bell spent much its early years in “Nick” in a dulled state. Also, bronze oxidizes as it weathers and gains a brown or greenish hue, as had occurred since 1997.
McShane Bell Foundry of nearby Glen Burnie, Maryland was an easy choice to recondition and clear-coat the bell to restore and protect its mirror finish.
On receiving the bell, McShane’s Bill Parker’s first impression was that McShane, itself, might have produced it in 1942. As such, it would have been cast from Naval grade bronze, a nearly indestructible material. On realizing that the reason for the bell’s retirement was its hairline crack, however, Bill reconsidered: this could not be Navy bronze. Rather, it is a church bell-grade alloy of 80 per cent copper and 20 per cent tin which, when struck (if not cracked), produces a more beautiful sound. Well might the bell have been popular during parades at 8th and I until, perhaps, it was struck harder than church bell bronze can stand!
Bill had a possible solution; while recasting the bell would be the only way to permanently restore its original sound, a welding rod might patch the crack. Some discoloration in the vicinity of the crack could be expected and the durability of the patch would be uncertain, but the bell could possibly be rung again in its original voice. Marines’ and shipmates’ intent is preservation of the bell for its symbolism rather than its sound, however, so McShane completed the restoration.
PLAQUE AND DEDICATION
The Marines’ decision to mount the bell on a column inside Center House determined the plaque’s design. Using a line drawing offered by A. D. (Dave) Baker, III (prepared in 1980 for the cover of the original edition of Norman Friedman’s book U.S. Destroyers, an illustrated design history) with text worked out between Nicholas shipmates and the Marines, Novacolor of Ogden, Utah (a supplier to the National Museum of the Pacific War, Fredericksburg, Texas) prepared an anodized aluminum plaque to complement the appearance of the bell.
On 7 August 2008, Nicholas shipmates, family members and friends gathered at the Marine Barracks Washington. Following a tour of the barracks and the Home of the Commandants, where they viewed the portrait of Samuel Nicholas, they participated in a ceremony at which the refurbished bell was unveiled, a ceremonial bellrope attached and the plaque dedicated. Speaking on behalf of Nicholas shipmates were World War II officers John Stone and Warren Gabelman.
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