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Bland builds replica of battleship
Ronald Bland of Bloomfield loves to work with wood, so with happy memories of serving on the U.S.S. New Jersey during the Korean War, he decided to build a replica of the ship.
"I really loved the Navy and loved that ship," noted Bland.
Bland explained that he built the ship from scrap wood and even made some parts from a tree limb.
"I always had a natural ability to carve, saw and build," noted Bland, "and try to work every day in my wood shop. I have worked with wood ever since I was a kid, and back then I had very few tools."
Bland joined the Navy in 1950 shortly after the beginning of the Korean War.
Following boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill., he was sent to Bayonne, N.J., where he boarded the New Jersey and was off to Korean waters.
Bland noted that the New Jersey bombarded the Korean shore from April 1951 until November of the same year.
"That ship has a lot of history," Bland said. "It was hit and had damage, but you can't sink a battleship."
After leaving Korea, Bland sailed with the ship to France, Portugal, Haiti and Cuba, and then in 1953, the crew returned to Korea where they were involved in more battles.
"I was in the deck force of the gunnery division and spent most of my time in the left gun," noted Bland. "Those guns could shoot from Bloomfield to Bloomington."
After more than three years in the Navy, Bland returned home as a Seaman 1st Class and was discharged in 1953.
He said he worked on the model of the U.S.S. New Jersey for a few months, but it was a labor of love.
Bland was born and raised in Bloomfield and that is where he and his wife, Carolyn, have resided and raised their children.