USS Farragut Anchor Dedication Ceremony
May 4, 2007 Farragut High School, Farragut, Tennesee
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Farragut Anchor Dedication Plaque
Shipmates Dave Paulson MM3 and Merle Denny MM3
Shipmate/President Jerry O'Connor RM2 and wife Vel
Shipmate Tip Vaughan ET1
Farragut shipmates during dedication ceremony
Shipmate/President Jerry O'Connor RM2 with wife and obvious better half Vel
Farragut shipmates and lovely wives enjoy dinner together
The Farragut HS football team "The Farragut Admirals" take to the field during ceremonies
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May 4, 2007
At 5:00 PM on this date, the faculty and staff of Farragut High School in Farragut, Tennesee dedicated the port side anchor from the decommissioned and by now, scrapped, Destroyer Leader, DLG 6/DDG 37, named for Admiral Farragut.
The anchor came to be there through the combined efforts of Shipmate Clyde Floyd, the faculty and staff of Farragut High School and the intervention of Congressman John Duncan, Jr. and State Representative Tim Burchett, both representatives of the Farragut district. The faculty of Farragut High School had wanted to place an anchor at the football stadium to be a source of inspiration and encouragement both for the teams and the students of Farragut High School for almost 10 years.
Shipmate Floyd contacted the Navy Department and with the assistance of The Sea and Anchor Detail, as they came to be known, obtained not only an anchor but the port anchor of the USS Farragut. The anchor was set aside and stored at the facility in Brownsville, Texas awaiting pickup and storage by the Sea and Anchor Detail. As fate would have it, one of the student's father was a trucking company owner. He, without cost to the school, sent a flatbed truck to Brownsville to pick up and transport the anchor to Farragut, again, without charge. The anchor was held in Knoxville until the Booster Club built a place for the anchor at the east end of the grandstand at Bill Clabo Field, the home staduim of the Farragut Admirals, as the sports teams are known.
The ceremony was attended by Shipmates Tom Caroll, Tommy Anderson, Merle Denny, David Paulson, Jack Bonner and Clyde Carroll. All shipmates were introduced by name and were asked to stand and be recognized by a standing ovation from the audience. I was moved to tears for such recognition of our efforts.
The Farragut Admirals also instituted what will become a tradition similar to Clemson in that the team touches the anchor before going onto the field. As I was told later, this tradition had been started when the anchor was first placed and the team is 3-0 with the anchor in place.
