The USS Texas (BB-35)

USS Texas (BB-35)

Technical Data: Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Company of Newport News, Virginia, the battleship

USS Texas was launched May 18, 1912, and commissioned March 12, 1914. The ship stretched 573 feet, stem to stern,

with a beam of 106 feet. Displacing 34,000 tons, she required a draft of twenty-eight feet, six inches. The Texas held a

crew of 1,820 officers and men and reached a top speed of twenty-one knots on the open sea.

History: Soon after her commissioning in 1914, the Texas saw action in Mexican waters during the so-called "Vera Cruz"

incident. During World War I, she joined the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet, operating out of Scapa Flow

and the Firth of Forth. In this role, she protected forces laying a North Sea mine barrage, countered German fleet sorties,

fired at submarines, and protected Allied supply lines. During World War II, the Texas fired in support of the amphibious

assault on Morocco; performed convoy duty; and fired her big guns at German defenses at Normandy on "D-Day" (June 6,

1944). Transferring to the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Texas provided gunfire and anti-aircraft support for landings at

Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Decommissioned on April 21, 1948, the ship became, later that year, the first battleship memorial

museum in the U.S. The ship remains on permanent display at the Battleship Texas State Historical Site, La Porte Texas.

Charley Plummer's Story: When Charley Madison Plummer joined the U.S. Navy on July 26, 1920, he mistakenly told

the recruiter that he had been born on January 24, 1901, which would have made him nineteen years and two days old at

the time. In fact, Charley did look all of nineteen years old; but, in the excitement of the moment, he had gotten his dates

mixed up. Actually, Charley had been born on December 1, 1904, which totaled fifteen years, eight months, and twenty-

seven days. After undergoing initial training, Seaman Second Class Charley Madison Plummer boarded his first ship, the

USS Texas, on November 16, 1920, serving under the command of Captain Frank H. Schofield. In the next seven years

and six months, Charley served under six captains aboard the Texas and rose to the rank of Quartermaster First Class.

Charley was on board in 1925, when the Texas underwent major modifications, her engines converted to oil-fired boilers,

tri-pod masts and a single stack added, her five-inch guns moved up to the main deck, and blister plating added as a form

of protection against torpedo attack. Charley left the Texas on May 28, 1928, in San Francisco, California. A short stint

of temporary land duty would fill the gap before his next sea assignment, the USS Tulsa.

Sources: (1) Battleship Texas State Historic Site (Texas Dept. of Parks and Wildlife)

(2) Department of the Navy Bureau of Navigation "Continuous Service Certificate" record pertaining to

Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer, Service Number 380-09-65, United States Navy, Retired (1920-1950).