Historic Navy ship USS KIDD on its way to Houma for repairs, restoration

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Historic Navy destroyer ship USS KIDD travels from its Baton Rouge home base to a Houma shipyard for needed repairs and restoration.

The journey started on Thursday morning. USS KIDD Museum Executive Director Parks Stephenson said in a previous interview that the ship’s overhaul is overdue, saying it’s been over 60 years.

The ship closed Wednesday, April 24 to prepare the USS KIDD for its trip, according to the museum.

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement that the ship will be repaired to its original 1943 commissioned condition.

“For the past 42 years, Baton Rouge residents have loved our USS Kidd. School students have visited the ship on countless field trips over the years, and our residents and tourists alike have paid tribute to our military service members and veterans on visits to this historic vessel,” Broome said.

Museum officials said the USS KIDD’s movement in the cradle, which allows the ship to rise and fall with Mississippi River water levels, damaged the hull. Funding came from the state government to contract a shipyard and the City-Parish provided grants to protect the ship’s historical artifacts and museum operations.

The USS KIDD Veterans Museum located at 305 S. River Road has attracted millions of visitors since its opening in 1983. It also once attracted Hollywood as it was chosen as a filming location for “Greyhound,” a war movie released in 2020 starring actor Tom Hanks.

According to the museum, the USS KIDD, nicknamed the “Pirate of the Pacific,” served in World War II and the Korean War. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Plans for the USS KIDD’s return to Baton Rouge will be during the next high-water cycle expected in the spring of 2025.

“We look forward as a city to welcoming the USS Kidd back home with much fanfare once these important repairs are completed, and she can return to her place of honor once again, front and center right here in downtown Baton Rouge,” Broome said.

People can still visit the museum building while the ship is gone. The museum said there will be reduced entrance fees and new exhibits planned.

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