[BartSimpson]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

(The ship's bell) is part of the (USS Arizona) Memorial which, is considered part of the ship so, technically the Bell still resides with the ship unlike the Hood's Bell which is now 1271 miles from it's proper resting place.

The Memorial is astride the ship, true. The bell, however, resides at the interpretive center about 2Km from the ship itself.

The bell for the USS Maine (which tragically exploded in Havana's harbor) is also at a museum instead of with the ship which was raised from the harbor and sunk in the depths of the Caribbean.

I'm not trying to debate you here, I'm just letting you know that there's no insult occurring here. To the contrary, future generations will find it easier to remember the Hood and the sacrifices of her crew if they can see a tangible part of her as a reminder that the ship was and is real and not just a page in a history book.

[Jabberwalker]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

(The ship's bell) is part of the (USS Arizona) Memorial which, is considered part of the ship so, technically the Bell still resides with the ship unlike the Hood's Bell which is now 1271 miles from it's proper resting place.

The Memorial is astride the ship, true. The bell, however, resides at the interpretive center about 2Km from the ship itself.

The bell for the USS Maine (which tragically exploded in Havana's harbor) is also at a museum instead of with the ship which was raised from the harbor and sunk in the depths of the Caribbean.

I'm not trying to debate you here, I'm just letting you know that there's no insult occurring here. To the contrary, future generations will find it easier to remember the Hood and the sacrifices of her crew if they can see a tangible part of her as a reminder that the ship was and is real and not just a page in a history book.

I tend to agree with Bart. You have to wonder where the magic line between desecration and archaeology lies. If we dug up a WWII cemetery, it would definitely be desecration. If we dig up graves from the English Civil War ... or it's contemporary Virginia Settlement, it would certainly be seen as archaeology, despite the fact that soldiers of our ethnicity are buried in both places.

What is the difference?

[xerxes]

IMO, it's the passage of time. Remember the pearl-clutching when it came out that the 9/11 memorial would have a gift shop? I'll admit I thought it was a bit sacrilegious too. But on the other hand, there are gift shops at the memorial sites for the Battles of Gettysburg and Antietam....

As to the matter at hand, I honestly don't know what to think. Both Bart and FOG make great points and neither are wrong.

[Thanos]

Maybe they could take a casting of the Hood bell, make a copy of if for the museum/memorial, and then return the original to the wreck site. I have a recollection of seeing a group do this with a different significant wreck not too long ago.

[Jabberwalker]

xerxes xerxes:

IMO, it's the passage of time. Remember the pearl-clutching when it came out that the 9/11 memorial would have a gift shop? I'll admit I thought it was a bit sacrilegious too. But on the other hand, there are gift shops at the memorial sites for the Battles of Gettysburg and Antietam....

As to the matter at hand, I honestly don't know what to think. Both Bart and FOG make great points and neither are wrong.

That's the thing.

[BartSimpson]

xerxes xerxes:

IMO, it's the passage of time. Remember the pearl-clutching when it came out that the 9/11 memorial would have a gift shop? I'll admit I thought it was a bit sacrilegious too. But on the other hand, there are gift shops at the memorial sites for the Battles of Gettysburg and Antietam....

As to the matter at hand, I honestly don't know what to think. Both Bart and FOG make great points and neither are wrong.

+5 for fairness.

[xerxes]

In case you missed it, there was a service last week that featured the ringing of the ship's bell.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-36361855

Still not sure how I feel about tit, but from what I've read both the British government and the Royal Navy ok'd the salvaging of the bell.