BATH

The Bath Municipal Band played and the big crowd cheered Wednesday as the Michael Murphy DDG 112 approached the Maine Maritime Museum for its sail-away salute.

Congressman Mike Michaud and DDG 51 program manager Mark Vandroff were among the featured speakers as the Aegis-guided missile destroyer — named in honor of a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan — made its way down the Kennebec River. Twelve miles later, the latest ship built at Bath Iron Works was in the Atlantic Ocean, on its way to New York City for commissioning into the Navy fleet.

Members of the military past, present and future were there for the salute. Among them, three members of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a civilian youth group that trains at the Winter Street Center in Bath. The Jason Dunham Unit moved there from the Brunswick Naval Air Station when it closed.

On a nearby dock, the Sea Cadet Corps and its commanders saluted the warship as it sailed by.

“I’ve been wanting to be a SEAL since I was a little kid, and Michael Murphy was my idol,” said Nathan Osborne of Newcastle, a sophomore at Lincoln Academy. “This is a great program. It’s taught me respect.”

Commanding officer Wanda Morrison and her eventual successor, Judi Jones, stood with the cadets, who have come to know the Michael Murphy’s crew well over the past year. The sailors helped the cadets get their training center in order, and with the training itself.

“We got close to them,” said Timothy Schmieks, a junior at Gray-New Gloucester High School. “It’s a whole bunch of old friends, and they’re leaving to be commissioned.”

The Michael Murphy crew taught the young cadets leadership skills, knot-tying, first aid, how to present themselves in public and respect for others.

“They helped us a lot,” said Grayson Jones, an eighth-grader at Brunswick Junior High. “This is pretty special.”

All three appreciated that this day was about the Michael Murphy, its crew, Bath Iron Works and about Michael Murphy.

During an operation to find a Taliban leader, Murphy and his team of three other SEALs were ambushed by at least 40 heavily armed guerrillas. During a fierce firefight and although severely wounded, he moved to open ground to radio for assistance and rescue of his team. He was killed after completing the call.

Michaud and Vandroff both praised the continued great shipbuilding tradition of Bath Iron Works.

“The Michael Murphy is leaving a shipbuilding town,” Michaud said. “The Bath Iron Works work force is a dedicated work force. The highestquality vessels are launched on these banks. Bath-built is bestbuilt.”

Michaud called it a momentous day.

“May God bless all who will serve on this trip,” he said.

Vandroff, who served in Bath during the early part of his career, quoted twice from Gospel.

“In the beginning, there was the work,” he said, quoting from John.

Vandroff noted that his office devises the plan for these ships. Then, it’s the shipbuilder’s job.

“A plan is not enough,” he said. “To make the plan work, you need a shipbuilder. They take the raw steel and basic components and they turn them into a mighty warship like the Michael Murphy.”

Amy Lent, executive director of the Maine Maritime Museum, agreed.

“The focus,” Lent said, “is on the ship today. I particularly want to thank Jeff Geiger and the folks at Bath Iron Works for building such a great ship.”

The longest-running post-WW II program of surface combatants, the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyers are the backbone of the fleet, guarding carrier task forces and carrying out a multiplicity of other duties worldwide.

Michael Murphy is the 34th Burke-class destroyer built at BIW, more than half of the Navy’s entire complement.

lgrard@timesrecord.com