My first USS Franklin (CV-13) reunion was in July of 2017 in Boston. I had been invited by my friend Ray Bailey, a Franklin crew member. Ray had been a lifelong friend of my father’s, who was also a World War II Navy veteran (though he did not serve aboard the Franklin). After my father passed away, my friendship with Ray grew closer.
It was at the Boston reunion that I first learned about the disastrous attack on the Franklin. Ray was showing me around in the reunion’s hospitality room when I saw photographs of the ship taken on 19 March 1945. Ray stood quietly beside me as I took it all in. Finally, I turned to him and asked, “You served on this ship?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“You survived this?” I asked incredulously, gesturing toward the photos.
“Yup,” was all he said.
Up to that moment, I had no knowledge of the Franklin or of Ray’s part in the ship’s story.
Included in the 2017 Boston reunion schedule was a memorial service aboard the USS Massachusetts (BB-59), located at Battleship Cove on the South Coast of Massachusetts. Although I had lived in the Commonwealth for nearly twenty years, I had never visited “America’s Fleet Museum,” and I was looking forward to seeing the ships and exhibits for the first time.
Reunion attendees gathered in the Memorial Room aboard the Massachusetts, where the Franklin memorial plaques were displayed on a beautifully crafted aluminum panel. There were three granite plaques engraved with the names of all the men who were killed while serving on the USS Franklin, plus one plaque etched with photographs of the ship and the two Medal of Honor recipients.
I regret that I no longer recall all the specifics of that event. My memory is that the large panel was bolted to the bulkhead at the time, though that appears not to have been the case when I look back at the photos. If anyone remembers details about the plaques as they were then—such as when they were donated to the Massachusetts—I would be grateful to hear from you.
Fast forward to August 2025 when I was planning the Massachusetts filming schedule for the documentary. I needed to travel to New Bedford on the South Coast and decided that while I was in the area, I would stop at Battleship Cove in Fall River to see the Franklin memorial plaques. However, I was unable to find them in the Memorial Room of the USS Massachusetts (BB-59).
One of the staff members introduced me to Chris Nardi, the Chief Operating Officer of the fleet museum. Chris explained that when the Memorial Room was refreshed with new exhibits several years ago, the Franklin plaques were taken down. He had left the organization for a time, and when he returned, the plaques had still not been remounted. Fortunately, the Franklin Memorial remains listed on the Battleship Cove website. Chris then showed me where the large aluminum panel was being stored, in a room near the Memorial Room. We discussed whether the panel could be remounted in time for filming later this fall, and agreed that I would return with a film crew to document the memorial.
The film crew and I came to Battleship Cove on Veterans Day — the weather was cold and the sky overcast. The crew had their work cut out for them, carrying production equipment from the parking lot, through the gift shop, along the pier, across a dock, up a gangway, and across the ship’s main deck. It was yeoman’s work for the film crew.
The crew for the Massachusetts shoots consisted of Caleb McLaughlin, Director of Photography, Zach Noblitt, Sound Mixer, and Scott Ryan, Production Assistant.
When we arrived, we found Chris putting the final polishing touches on the plaques. He explained that he and a small crew had moved the panel to its current location in the theater of the Memorial Room. There is a large steel flange on the back of the panel that was likely used in the past to mount it to the ship’s bulkhead, but there was not enough open bulkhead space in the Memorial Room to accommodate it.
They initially brought the panel into the theater to mount it, but the wall there was not strong enough to support the weight. I don’t know exactly how much the panel weighs, but it must be many hundreds of pounds. The aluminum panel itself is at least an inch thick (or possibly it’s aluminum-coated wood or metal), with the sturdy steel flange mounted to the back and the four substantial granite plaques affixed to the front. Sadly, the metal letters spelling “USS FRANKLIN,” which once adorned the top edge of the panel, were missing. Also, Chris explained that they planned to replace the certificate with the history of the Franklin that once occupied the upper left corner of the panel.
After setting up, we interviewed Chris who spoke about the connection between the USS Franklin and the USS Massachusetts —how the two ships served together in the Pacific during World War II, and why it was fitting that the Franklin memorial plaques were housed aboard the Massachusetts. He also discussed the immense effort required to maintain an entire fleet of museum ships, and the historical importance of Battleship Cove.
We then interviewed Chris’s colleague, Brian Rettman, one of the lead volunteers at Battleship Cove who works to preserve the integrity of the collection. One of their recent projects involved reactivating the ship’s original 1940s-era phone system aboard the Massachusetts and integrating it with modern communication systems. Both men gave excellent interviews, and it was clear they were comfortable on camera and experienced in sharing information about the ships they help preserve.
After a successful shoot aboard the USS Massachusetts, we thanked Chris for his work in bringing the Franklin memorial plaques back into public view, and we thanked both him and Brian for sharing their expertise on camera.
Afterward, we packed up, and Caleb captured B-roll footage in the Memorial Room and around the ship while we carried the gear back out to the van. Then Zach treated us all to a ride on the Fall River Carousel. Built in the early twentieth century by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the carousel is one of the few remaining in the country to feature hand-carved wooden horses. It was a fun and fitting way to end the shoot in Fall River.
