USS Drum (SS-228) is a Gato-class submarine; the first named after the drum, a family of fish. Drum is now a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park. She is the oldest of her class still in existence.
During WW2, Drum made fourteen patrols, the last of which was cut short by the Japanese surrender.
On at least three occasions Drum endured hours of depth charge attacks. Despite that she is credited with sinking fifteen ships, a total of 80,580 tons of enemy shipping by the end of the war. For her service she was awarded a total of 12 battle stars.
Following the war, Drum was decommissioned on 16 February 1946 and the next month began service in the Potomac River Naval Command for the Naval Reserve in Washington, DC until 1967.
After transferring to the inactive fleet at Norfolk, Virginia she was donated to the USS Alabama Battleship Commission in 1969, and opened to the public the same year. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Drum was moored directly behind USS Alabama until she sustained damage in the storm surge of Hurricane Georges in 1998. She was placed on display ashore. Both Drum and Alabama received damage when Hurricane Katrina came ashore in August 2005. Tours on board drum resumed the following January. Most of the funding to maintain the submarine comes from a community of American Submarine Vets.
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Jim L. Wright is a storyteller with a lifetime of experiences as colorful as the characters he creates. Born and raised in Piedmont, Alabama, Jim’s connection to the land, history, and people of the region runs deep. His debut novel New Yesterdays is set in his hometown, where he grew up listening to stories of the past—stories that sparked his imagination and curiosity for history.
Today, Jim lives in Leeds, Alabama, with his husband Zeek, a tour operator who shares his passion for adventure and discovery. Known affectionately as “Ol’ Big Jim,” he has had a diverse career that includes time as a storekeeper, an embalmer, a hospital orderly, and a medical coder. There are even whispers—unconfirmed, of course—that he once played piano in a house of ill repute.
No matter the job, one thing has remained constant: Jim is a teller of tales. His stories—sometimes humorous, sometimes thought-provoking—are often inspired by his unique life experiences. Many of these tales can be found on his popular blog, Ol’ Big Jim, where he continues to share his musings with a loyal readership.
Jim’s adventures have taken him far beyond Alabama. For seven years, he lived in Amman, Jordan, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city. His time there, spent in smoky coffee shops, enjoying a hookah and a cup of tea while scribbling in his ever-present notebook, deeply influenced his worldview and his writing.
When Jim isn’t writing, he’s thinking about writing. His stories, whether tall tales from his past or imaginative reimagining is of historical events should read from his past or imaginative reimaginings of historical events, reflect a life lived fully and authentically. With New Yesterdays, Jim brings readers a rich tapestry of history, fantasy, and human connection.
Visit his blog at www.olbigjim.com to read more of his stories, or follow him on social media to keep up with his latest musings and projects, one of which is a series that follows Bonita McCauley, an amateur detective who gets into some very sticky situations.
His book, New Yesterdays, can be found at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble.
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I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who loves to hike, to play music, make amazing fun food, carve wood, grow plants, to read good books and explore the world!
Life is a patchwork of moments — laughter, solitude, everyday joys, and quiet aches. Through scribbled stories, I explore travels both far and inward, from sunrise over unfamiliar streets to the comfort of home. This is life as I see it, captured in ink and memory. Stick around; let's wander together.
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Nice, I didn’t know that ships can get battle stars, too, but then again, there’s a lot I don’t know about wars 🙂
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Informative post! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
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Proud boat. Thanks, Jim
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