SHIP'S BELL

BELL MOUNTED TWICE

"Some time after ASHLAND was commissioned, the bell came aboard and the Carpenter, I think it was W.T. Martin at the time, told me to get it hung on the bulkhead in front of the bridge.  We were in Pearl Harbor at the time and all my welders were on liberty.  I got one of the yard welders to weld
it on for me.  All I had to do was make a holding bracket, pick the spot and hold
it in place.  As I held it in place, I asked him to tack weld a spot so I could check the alignment.  His tack weld was about 8 inches long and the bracket slanted to one side.  Too much work to redo it and I was sick about the whole thing.  When the Carpenter saw it, he had a good laugh and told me to forget about changing it.  I assume that the bell hung at a strange angle until it was finally removed.
-Warren Poole, Chief Shipfitter, 1943-45

When the ship was scrapped the bell from the USS ASHLAND (LSD-1) was one of the few items saved.  The USS Ashland LSD Association obtained the bell and mounted it on the grounds of the ASHLAND estate in Lexington, Kentucky.

Go by to see it when you are in Lexington.  Put your hands on it, close your eyes.  Perhaps you will feel and sense the history in this bell.