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USS Olympia -
Philadelphia, PA June
4, 2005 |
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Temperature
76 degrees
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Weather
clear
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Relative
Humidity
79%
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Barometric
pressure
29.92
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Moon
Phase
waning crescent
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Pollen count
n/a
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Moon Illuminated
5%
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Solar
X-rays
see below
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Geomagnetic
Field
see below
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| Total
photos |
Still being
tallied |
| Total
positive photos |
Still being
tallied |
| EVP's |
Recordings under review |
| Positive
video events |
Still being
tallied |
| EMF
fluctuations |
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| Temperature
drops |
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History of the Ship
Olympia
(C-6) was laid down 17 June 1891 by Union Iron Works, San
Francisco, Calif., Launched 5 November 1892 sponsored by Miss
Ann B. Diekie; and commissioned 5 February 1895, Captain John J.
Read in command.
Olympia departed Mare Island 25 August 1895 to join the Asiatic
Fleet as flagship. For three years she cruised the Far East,
visiting Japan, China, and the Philippines. With Captain Charles
V. Gridley in command, she flew the flag of Commodore George
Dewey from 3 January 1898. That winter she lay at Hong Kong with
the fleet, awaiting orders should war with Spain break out. On
25 April, the day the war was deelared, the squadron moved to
Mirs Bay, China. Two days later eame the message which led to
Dewey's immortal victory at Manila Bay.
Ships darkened, the fleet safely passed the harbor defenses, and
engaged the enemy off Manila at daybreak 1 May. Dewey
remembered, "At 5:40 when we were within a distance of
5,000 yards, I turned to Captain Gridley and said, You may fire
when you are ready, Gridley'.... The very first gun to speak was
an 8 inch ... of the Olympia ...." By noon Spain's Asian
fleet had been destroyed with Olympia playing the leading role.
The battle was pivotal in the history of the Far East, and thus
of the world.
Olympia took part in the blockade and capture of the eity of
Manila and covered the Army in repelling insurgent attacks until
she returned to the China coast 20 May 1899. Next month she was
underway for Suez, the Mediterranean, and Boston, which she
reached 10 October. She decommissioned there S November 1899.
Recommissioning in January 1902, Olympia joined the North
Atlantic Squadron, serving first as flagship for the Caribbean
Division. In the next four years, she roved the Caribbean,
Atlantic, and Mediterranean, protecting American citizens and
interests from danger in the political strife and turmoil
troubling this period. She was off Panama (December 1903-March
1904), Tangiers (June 1904), Smyrna, Turkey (August 1904), and
Santo Domingo (May-December 1905), on the alert for any threat.
For six years, beginning 2 April 1906, Olympia was out of
commission first at Norfolk, then at Annapolis, recommissioning
three summers for midshipmen training cruises (15 May26 August
1907 l June-1 September 1908, 14 May-28 August 1909). SXe
arrived Charleston, S. C. 6 March 1912, to serve as barracks
ship for the reserve torpedo group.
As war eame closer to the United States, Olympia recommissioned
in late 1916 and became flagship, Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet,
13 April 1917. She patrolled off Nova Seotia and escorted
convoys before departing Charleston 28 April 1918 for Murmansk,
Russia. There on 24 May 1918, she joined an allied force during
the crisis brought on by Russia's revolution and her peace
treaty with Germany. Olympia landed sailors to garrison Murmansk,
and contributed others to the Allied expedition on Arehangel.
At war's end she sailed for Portsmouth, England, and then the
Mediterranean. She cruised principally in the Adriatic from 21
January 1919 to 25 October, policing the Dalmation coast which
was wracked with turmoil in the wake of the collapse of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. On 18 August she sailed for the Black
Sea to aid refugees before returning to the Adriatie 19
September. On 23 September, she sent a landing party ashore at
Trau to prevent a clash between Yugoslavs and Italians.
Returning to Charleston 24 November 1919, Olympia prepared for
further Adriatie duty, departing New York 14 February 1920. Home
again at Philadelphia 25 May 1921 she became flagship of the
Train, Atlantic Fleet, the next month. She took part that July
in the Army-Navy experiments which sank ex-German warships
Frankfurt and Ostfriesland off the Virginia Capes.
On 3 October 1921 Olympia departed Philadelphia for LeHavre to
bring the remains of the Unknown Soldier home for interment in
Arlington National Cemetery. The cruiser sniled for home 25
October 1921, escorted by a group of French destroyers for the
first leg of the passage. At the mouth of the Potomae on 9
November North Dakota (BB-29) and Bernadou (DD-163) joined her
as she stood up to the Washington Navy Yard. There with full and
somber military honors, the body was piped over the side,
Olympia firing a last salute.
After training midshipmen in the summer of 1922, Olympia
decommissioned at Philadelphia 9 December 1922. She was
Reclassified IX-40 on 30 June 1931. The Navy's oldest steel ship
still afloat is perserved as a shrine at Philadelphia by the
Cruiser Olympia Association, to which title was transferred 11
September 1957.
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Click
on map to enlarge
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Our Report
USS Olympia
June 4th, 2005
9:00pm – 12:00am
Moon Phase on 4 June: waning crescent with 5%
of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Solar
Flares:
Probability
for a medium-sized (M-class)
solar flare = 25% or a major (X-class)
solar flare = 05%
Geomagnetic
Storms:
Probabilities
for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are: minor =
15%, severe = 5%
Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy
Investigators present: Anne Palagruto, John Nilsen,
Audra Isanski, Marque Carter
Summary of events: Rather than reports of ghosts on
board the Olympia, it was the history of this ship that attracted us
to it. Many times spirits of the
men who spent much of their lives on a ship will linger there after
death. This is true especially for ships that were in battle.
However our findings after this investigation do not indicate
that the Olympia is a haunted ship. While it is true that there may
be a passing spirit now and then on this ship, our belief is that
spirits always are all around us. To say that this ship is haunted
would mean that there is a particular spirit or spirits attached to
a certain part of the ship. The spirit would be there most or all of
the time and would more than likely have some purpose for being
there. We did not find this to be the case on board the Olympia.
We obtained only a few photos that showed orbs in them. (see
attached FAQ sheet) investigators did not report significant
fluctuations in the electromagnetic field, sudden temperature drops
or cold spots. There was, however, one incident of a motion detector
going off. This was near a ladder leading up to the wheel room, but
being outdoors and with the wide range on the type of detector used,
this could possibly have been set off by a live person I did not
see. Since this was the only physical evidence besides the photos I
don’t think it was a significant event.
Investigators did experience much residual energy on
certain parts of the ship. This is more like an imprint of a person
who was there or of events from the past than it is an actual
spirit. The areas where this was felt the strongest was the
admiral’s stateroom and the area right outside it, the wheel room,
and one of the storage areas. The impressions were not strong enough
to describe a specific person or event but energy was felt in these
places.
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