September 1st Work Progress Photos Page 1 of 3

Once again I made the pilgrimage to Camden from Virginia in the early morning hours to spend the day onboard Big J doing volunteer work.  As I have done on my last several trips aboard I went to work polishing brass.  Today we were concentrating on light switches and plates on the weather decks.  We have started on the main deck and are working upwards one deck at a time.  To date we've finished the main deck level and are working on the O1 level.  Much of the brass we are removing and polishing has many coats of paint on them, it doesn't look like they have been cleaned and polished in many years.  The joke is to clean them right you have to get down to Admiral Halsey's fingerprints, then you're almost done.  Not much exciting to report on today's visit, as usual though there were lots of volunteers onboard doing a wide variety of jobs.  Many were like myself disappointed that the move won't be taking place on Labor Day, but that just gives us more time to get the ship ready for the public.  That's about all for now, below are some photos taken while onboard today.

Ribbons in place on Starboard Side of Superstructure.

Another shot of the ribbons that Big J 
has earned in nearly 60 years of service.

My favorite view onboard is right here in front of these guns!

With the top portion of her mast back in place, 
she's finally starting to look like her old self again!

Close up view of the forward Phalanx
Gun mount on the Starboard side.

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Last updated on August 06, 2003.