Grant award announced to help restore USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. in Fall River ahead of 80th anniversary celebration

Tin Can Sailors, Inc., the National Association of Destroyer Veterans, will present a grant to the USS Massachusetts Memorial Committee for the benefit of the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. on Wednesday at Battleship Cove in Fall River. The grant is awarded from the Thomas J. Peltin Grant Program for destroyer museum ships. Members of the Tin Can Sailors’ Board of Directors will be aboard to make the presentation.

According to Rosehn Gipe, President of Tin Can Sailors, the award is $3,000 and will be used to support the external preparation, priming, and topcoat painting of the port side boat davits and forward main deck overhead on the port and starboard side of the destroyer.

Tin Can Sailors, founded in 1976, is a membership organization comprised of destroyer sailors, both past and present, as well as family members, friends, and those interested in preserving the history of U.S. Navy destroyers. Part of the organization’s mission is to support the ten destroyer museum ships in the United States by providing grants for specific shipboard projects. Tin Can Sailors’ National Headquarters is in Somerset, Massachusetts.

The grant program was named for Thomas J. Peltin, a sailor assigned to the USS Epperson DD719 during the Vietnam War. Peltin served as President and Executive Director of Tin Can Sailors from 1995 to 2004.

USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., a Gearing-class destroyer, is moored on the Taunton River at Battleship Cove and is currently open to the public daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is charged.

The announcement comes on the heels of the 80th anniversary of the commissioning of 98 Gearing class destroyers including the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

For more information about Tin Can Sailors, visit www.destroyers.org. For more information about USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. visit www.battleshipcove.org. For more information on the 80th anniversary celebration, click here.