A house divided? No, a ship united
Sailors on USS The Sullivans honor Waterloo namesakes' home state, Cy-Hawk style
“People are expecting me to do big things. I will!” — Jack Trice
”May God give me the courage to do my duty and not falter.” — Nile Kinnick
”We stick together.” — George Sullivan
MAYPORT, Fla. — George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan never made it back home to Iowa from World War II. But the crew of their namesake U.S. Navy ship is taking a little bit of Iowa on board with them.
They’re engaging in a little friendly competition that is the talk of the state about every second weekend in September. Hawkeyes vs. Cyclones. Herky versus Cy. The Black and Gold versus the Cardinal and Gold.
The crew of the USS The Sullivans, a U.S. Navy destroyer named for the five Waterloo brothers who died together in the Pacific in November 1942, are taking up sides for the annual Iowa-Iowa State “Cy-Hawk” intrastate football game Saturday, Sept. 7.
While the rivalry can raise tempers and trash talk back home, it’s a break for the sailors of a ship which has served multiple deployments the past several years. And it’s a little bit of homage to the home state of the Sullivans.
The rivalry starts right at the top. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Mathew Rechkemmer, the ship’s commanding officer, is a 2007 graduate of Iowa State’s naval ROTC program. The ship’s official Navy sponsor, Cedar Falls elementary school teacher Kelly Sullivan, the granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, the youngest of the Sullivan brothers, is a graduate of the University of Iowa.
“Mathew Rechkemmer was a Divo (divisional officer) on USS The Sullivans DDG 68” on a previous duty assignment, Kelly Sullivan explained. “Mat and I had a wonderful rivalry back in the day when he was on the ship. I am incredibly proud to have him back as CO of my family's namesake ship.”
Rechkemmer took command of the ship last summer and Sullivan attended the change-of-command ceremony. “In his speech he talked about our special Iowa vs. Iowa State rivalry and that there would be an ISU flag flying from the yardarm,” Sullivan said. “I promptly went to Amazon and got a ‘ship divided’ flag.”
Sullivan had beaten him to the punch years back. She and a former executive officer on the ship who was from Iowa, Wyatt Chidester, got an Iowa Tiger Hawk flag and flew it from the ship's yardarm.
“Coach Kirk Ferentz donated the flag and Iowa gear,” Sullivan said. “He even signed the flag for the crew!
“See all of the fun stuff I get to do as a ship's sponsor?” Sullivan added.
Sullivan christened the ship, made at Bath Iron Works in Maine, in August 1995 and participated in “bringing the ship to life” during commissioning ceremonies at Stapleton Pier, Staten Island in New York harbor in April 1997. She remains one of the most active ship sponsors in the Navy.
Sullivan’s also such a devoted Hawkeye fan that her faithful companion of many years is a totally huggable little poochie named….wait for it, wait for it….Kinnick. Yes, as in Nile Kinnick, the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner for the Hawkeyes, for whom Iowa’s football stadium is named.
Like the Sullivans, Kinnick enlisted in the Navy. Like the Sullivans, he lost his life at sea during the war. An ensign and pilot on the carrier USS Lexington, Kinnick was killed in a training flight crash off the coast of Venezuela in June 1943.
Seven months earlier, the five sons of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan of Waterloo died after their ship, the cruiser USS Juneau, was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine on Nov. 13, 1942 following the naval Battle of Guadalcanal. All but 14 of the Juneau’s crew of nearly 700 perished.
The five brothers’ deaths is considered the greatest loss of life by one family at one time in American military history. Although attempts were made to pass a “Sullivan law” preventing family members from serving in combat together, no such act was ever adopted by Congress. Local National Guard units with multiple family members have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The USS The Sullivans, hull number DDG-68, an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, is the second ship named for five brothers. The first USS The Sullivans, hull number DD-537, sponsored by Alleta Sullivan, saw action in World War II and Korea and is now decomissioned and moored at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park in Buffalo, N.Y.
According to a Navy press release, the DDG-68 returned to its home port of Mayport, Fla. in February from two months of service in the Mediterranean Sea, completing its fourth deployment in two years. During one of those previous deployments, lasting seven months in 2021, it was attached to the British Royal Navy and escorted the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth around the world.
On its most recent deployment, it provided guided missile defense to the U.S. European command during the Israeli-Hamas war and performed escort duty to U.S. carrier and amphibious readiness groups. It has been involved in traning operations following its return.
So after all that sea duty, a little football rivalry may seem intense to devoted Hawkeye and Cyclone fans — but a welcome diversion to sailors on the ship named for five Iowa native sons who “gave it all” for liberty.
Pat Kinney is a freelance writer and former longtime news staffer with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier and, prior to that, several years at the Ames Tribune. He is currently an oral historian with the Grout Museum District in Waterloo. His “View from the Cedar Valley” column is part of “Iowa Writers Collaborative,” a collection of news and opinion writers from around the state who previously and currently work with a host of Iowa newspapers, news organizations and other publications. They are listed below. Clink on the links to check them out, subscribe for free - and, if you believe in the value of quality journalism, support this column and/or any of theirs with a paid subscription .
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