WHEC-37 1

This picture was actually taken from the Marshalls that's across the street from the USCGC Taney. Speaking of the name, this is a good opportunity to discuss the name of the ship.

She was launched as the USCGC Roger B. Taney in 1936, and was renamed simply USCGC Taney in 1937. She was part of the Treasury class, and it was called that because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. If it wasn't obvious, her namesake was Roger B. Taney, and if you know your history, this name may be setting off some alarm bells. Roger B. Taney was the one who delivered the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), ruling that African Americans could not be considered U.S. citizens, and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the U.S. territories. In 2020, the ship was renamed WHEC-37 “in support of the local, national, and global call to remove symbols venerating oppression and racial injustice.” The ship is now being referred to by its hull identification number, WHEC-37. According to the foundation that currently owns and operates the ship, “it was important to remove the name “Taney” from this historic vessel so that the sacrifice of those who served aboard this ship is not tainted by the dark legacy of Roger B. Taney.”

Personally. I am a huge proponent of education that focuses on the evils of our country, past and present. It is important that modern Americans fully understand the institution of slavery, the evils and pain it inflicted, and the effects that it still has on us and African-Americans even to this day. However, things like statues of confederate generals are meant to honor and celebrate them. Not an effort to teach about the realities of slavery and segregation in our country's history. When it comes to the ship, I am willing to give the ones who named her some slack, because they likely only named the ship after him because he was a Secretary of the Treasury, not to honor or venerate the terrible things he has done. However, when ships are named after a human being, they are typically named after noble people who have done noble deeds, and Roger B. Taney is neither of those things. To a member of the general public who knows nothing about history or Roger B. Taney, seeing his name scrawled across the bow of the ship might give them the false impression that he was someone worthy of honoring or commemorating. He isn’t and wasn’t. Therefore, given Roger B. Taney's lack of any real connection to the ship besides his name, removal of his name does not effectively hamper the teaching of the history of the ship.

I tend to agree that the history of this ship and the men who served aboard her should not be conflated with an evil man who died more than 71 years before the ship even began construction. The man named Roger B. Taney had absolutely nothing to do with this ship, and it is unfair for his legacy to hang over the ship like a pall. That being said, I don’t believe it is possible to completely erase the name from all association with the ship. However, I think that they have reached a good compromise. The ship is still known as Taney colloquially and in exhibits aboard the ship, but the ship's official name on documentation and promotional material for the Baltimore Inner Harbor is WHEC-37. They aren't erasing history, but also not celebrating Roger B. Taney.

And finally, because I didn’t really have anywhere else to put it, she is one of only two surviving vessels of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.