by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Lawyer Dan Bean finds himself back where it all started.
The first ship the Holland & Knight partner stepped aboard at the beginning of his career in the Navy was the USS Charles F. Adams.
He was a midshipman in 1984. Both Bean and the Adams Class destroyer have gone through some changes since then.
Bean is in private practice, but still serves as a captain in the Navy Reserve as a judge advocate general, and is the commanding officer of Naval Reserve Regional Legal Service Office Southeast.
The Adams Class destroyer was decommissioned in 1992, but the “Charlie Deuce” is docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard awaiting its next assignment, possibly as a Downtown Jacksonville educational attraction.
Bean hopes to reacquaint himself with the ship by contributing to the effort to bring the vessel to Jacksonville and convert it into a floating museum docked on the Southbank near the Acosta Bridge.
He was recently elected president of the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association, which is working with the Adams Class Veterans Association to develop the new attraction.
“I wasn’t looking for anything to get involved in,” said Bean, who finished his term as president of The Jacksonville Bar Association eight months prior.
“But when I heard of this project, I thought it would be a great asset for Downtown, to help it become more vibrant. It is a tremendous challenge, but one we can complete,” he said.
Both organizations have counted on volunteers to move the project along and begin the fundraising campaign to pay for the transport of the vessel to Jacksonville, building the dock and converting the ship to a museum.
Understanding the daunting task that lays ahead for the project, the associations plan to hire a national fundraising coordinator for the project.
“Both organizations have done a great job of educating the public on the project and getting us to where we are,” said Bean. “But the coordinator will help us get to the next level.”
When the project is completed, the vision is to offer a floating museum of naval history that will be able to host educational tours as well as private events, such as reunions, both military and civilian, and birthday and retirement parties.
“It’s difficult in this day and age to get on a base and get up close to a ship,” said Bean. “This would be a great tool for recruitment as well. We could hold overnights as well to let people feel what it’s like to be a part of the crew. Kids love it.”
The project has received support from Jacksonville City Council, which voted unanimously, 15-0, to support the project. The support came after the council was satisfied that the project would not be a financial burden on the City if it ran out of funds.
“Before the release of the vessel, the Navy requires that the Adam’s Class Veterans Association have money set aside for the removal of the ship if the project does not succeed,” said Bean.
“So the City will not bear any financial responsibility for the ship.”
Berthing the ship Downtown has been estimated to cost about $10 million, which would include transport, construction of a new pier and conversion to a museum.
“It’s not going to be easy,” said Bean. “But we will make it happen.”
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