In 2017, Doherty High School’s senior naval science instructor started a project to honor the wartime contributions of service members from Colorado Springs. Five years later, with the help of a local mural artist, retired Navy Capt. Greg Thomas’ project was completed.
Dubbed the Hall of Honor, the project consists of a two-wall mural festooned with images of warships and aircraft, as well as plaques commemorating local war heroes like Phil Long, the former fighter pilot and auto dealership titan, and Navy Petty Officer Daniel Griffin, the first Coloradan to die in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that brought the U.S. into World War II.
Now, Thomas is looking to expand on the project with a display that will help preserve naval artifacts that might otherwise be thrown away.
Last month, while in Texas for biannual training, Thomas met a man who had several old plaques from decommissioned Navy ships. A former helicopter pilot, Thomas recognized one of the ships, USS Mount Hood, as a platform he had once flown on.
“The guy had a few plaques on a table,” said Thomas, who heads Doherty’s Navy Junior ROTC. “He said, ‘Do you have any use for these? My kids don’t want them.’ So I took them.”
Since then, Thomas has collected 36 ship’s plaques, some from donations, others purchased on eBay. His plan is to augment the Hall of Honor project with 200-300 plaques, he said.
Typically made of brass, the plaques were often gifted to sailors as end-of-tour mementos. When those service members die, the plaques are often thrown out, Thomas said.
“I would be willing to bet the vast majority of these things end up in a landfill somewhere,” Thomas said. “I want to preserve these any way I can. They are a part of naval history. And they’re just very interesting and unique to see.”
Each plaque represents its own piece of military history, and Thomas likes to occasionally pick a plaque and research it, he said.
USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat, has a history dating back to the late 18th century and saw action in the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. Retired from active service in 1881, “Old Ironsides” is currently berthed in Boston, where it is open to public tours year-round, and still occasionally sails through Boston Harbor for special events.
USS Hyman G. Rickover, a submarine, was named for the admiral credited with creating the world’s first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus. Considered the “father of the nuclear Navy,” Rickover served for 63 years, longer than any other naval officer in U.S. history. The first submarine named for him was commissioned in 1984 and decommissioned in 1986. The current USS Hyman G. Rickover was commissioned in October 2023.
USS Howard W. Gilmore was named for a World War II submarine commander who performed arguably one of the most selfless acts in U.S. military history. On Feb. 7, 1943, Gilmore’s submarine, the USS Growler, was badly damaged in a collision with a Japanese ship. As the ship came under heavy .50-caliber machine-gun fire, the wounded Gilmore ordered everyone to leave the damaged bridge before taking the sub into the depths, saving the ship and surviving crew but sacrificing his own life.
“Each one of these plaques has a history,” Thomas said. “Whether they served during a war or not, their histories are worth preserving.”
To make room for the new project, Thomas had about 30 old, unused lockers removed from one of the walls. Now he has the space; all he needs are the plaques.
In the effort to add to his collection, Thomas has circulated an electronic flyer to several military-affiliated organizations, and he plans to attend as many ship reunions as he can. He’s also keeping an eye out in case any of these naval artifacts pop up in thrift stores, or on eBay.
“For some reason, a lot of families don’t want these, so I hope to preserve as many as I can,” Thomas said. “If I don’t get them, where are they going to go?”
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