A Common Bedsheet in Navy’s Collection Tells a Story of Hope
us navy photo, nhhc
by Jeffrey Bowdoin, Naval History and Heritage Command
In August of 2020, the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) was offered a rather unique and spectacular artifact—a bedsheet. On September 11, 2001, while the world watched the attacks in New York and the Pentagon and the loss of Flight 93 in horror, the crew of USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) was underway off the coast of Plymouth, England, conducting Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) with RFA Brambleleaf (A81). When Churchill was notified of the attacks, FOST was cancelled and the ship was placed at THREATCON DELTA, meaning that a terrorist attack had occurred or intelligence suggested one would occur imminently. Thousands of miles away from home, the American crew were unable to assist in any response efforts closer to home. Three days later, while Churchill was still on patrol off the English coast, the German destroyer Lutjens signaled she wished to come alongside the US Navy destroyer. Churchill’s crew watched as the Lutjens crew rendered honors to their American counterparts by manning the rails and hoisting the American flag slightly higher than their own. The Lutjens crew was holding up a white bedsheet; on it was written “We Stand By You”—a powerful expression of unity in a time of crisis and tremendous loss. Later, then-Congressman from Minnesota Gil Gutknecht recounted this story on the floor of the House of Representatives. Having watched the speech on C-Span, the German ambassador to the United States arranged for a meeting between Gutknecht and the Lutjens commanding officer, where the bedsheet was gifted to the congressman. In 2020, Gutknecht contacted the NHHC Curator Branch to offer this historic artifact to the US Navy collection. Of all the September 11th artifacts in the NHHC collection, this bedsheet is uniquely Navy. It serves as a reminder of a shared human connection, of friends and allies standing together in the darkest moments, and that even an everyday bedsheet can project a powerful, emotional message of hope and solidarity. Jeffrey Bowdoin serves as Curator Branch Head, Naval History and Heritage Command. To learn more about the history of the US Navy, please visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website: history.navy.mil/usnhistory. 50
photo and object collections. LAMM collections cover the entire history of the Port of Los Angeles. Subject areas include the fishing and canning industry, commercial diving, US Navy, shipbuilding, yachting, passenger ships, cargo shipping, and local communities. Highlights include the Terence M. Lee / CalShip Collection and Torrance R. Parker Collection. Terence Lee was an aide to CalShip’s president (and future CIA director) John A. McCone. The California Shipbuilding Corporation built Liberty and Victory ships (and their variants) on Terminal Island, San Pedro, during World War II. Lee donated thousands of publicity photos that had been taken at the shipyard. Launchings, yard shows, propaganda posters, construction, and outfitting are all represented, and it is here that people will find the museum’s largest cache of Hollywood celebrity photos. The likes of Walt Disney, Shirley Temple, and Bette Davis were on hand for ship christenings and war bond drives. Torrance Parker was a commercial diver and diving instructor based in San Pedro. He salvaged shipwrecks, performed underwater construction, and authored numerous books. His collection features images of operations from the Port of Los Angeles to as far away as the Orinoco River in Venezuela. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the collection also showcases representations of deep-sea diving in Hollywood productions. The museum has been closed to the public for renovations since before the COVID-19 shutdown began, and the digital material from these collections has helped LAMM stay engaged with visitors virtually. With construction winding down, the museum hopes to reopen later this year. Meanwhile, digitization continues behind the scenes and new content is continuously uploaded to LAMM’s online platform, shedding light on fascinating collections that have long laid dormant. The collection may be viewed at https://lamaritimemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/ and inquiries can be directed to Derek Spinei at spinei@lamaritimemuseum.org. (www.lamaritimemuseum.org) … The American maritime heritage community has welcomed a new museum into its ranks. The Currituck Maritime Museum on North Carolina’s Outer Banks opened to the public on 16 July. SEA HISTORY 176, AUTUMN 2021