Astoria woman reminisces about her 1944 minesweeper christeningWhen Margie Thompson looks back on her 74 years, there are many days she considers defining: graduation from Astoria High School, her wedding, and the birth of children and grandchildren.

A recent reunion with former crew members, one of those defining days had been all but forgotten – the day when, as a teenager, she christened a World War II minesweeper.

Submitted photo

Margie Thompson is the only woman in this YMS-425 reunion photo taken recently in Pensacola, Fla. Crew members were thrilled to meet Thompson, who christened the ship in 1944.Her father, Arthur Olson, was a foreman at Astoria Marine Construction Co. for many years. He died just before the completion of YMS-425, a new minesweeper.

The ship’s builders dedicated the christening to Olson and gave the task of swinging the champagne bottle against the side of the ship to his daughter Margie, then only 15.

So on Sept. 9, 1944, still grieving over the loss of her father, a nervous Thompson knew she had an important job.

“They had a banquet the night before, and the one thing they told me was the person who had christened the ship previous to mine hadn’t broken the bottle, which is bad luck.” she said. “So they told me to be sure and break the bottle.”

The ship was to be lowered into the water via a dry-dock ramp, and Thompson stood at the top of the ramp next to the ship waiting for the vessel to start its descent into the icy Columbia River.

According to tradition, if Thompson had swung the bottle too early, before it had actually started down the ramp, the ship would be destined to bring bad luck to itself and its crew. If Thompson waited until it was too late, she might miss the ship entirely and the same fate would ensue.

The weather was warm on that late summer day, but Thompson recalled her hands were cold and clammy as she tried to calm her nerves.

Thompson said the captain of the ship or somebody from Astoria Marine Construction must have given a speech, but she was too focused on breaking the bottle to remember what the speakers said.

“They told me it would creak and groan before the ship is moving, so be sure the ship is moving before you break the bottle.” said Thompson. “Well, when I thought it was definitely moving I let it fly. I broke it into little particles, and the champagne went all over everybody. The guys at the reunion said ‘That was what brought us the good luck.’ They went through a typhoon off the cost of Okinawa that sank another minesweeper just like it.”

The foundation of YMS-425 was laid June 6, 1944, D-Day. The minesweeper was sent on various exercises including a six-month operation in the coastal waters of Japan, sweeping mines for occupational forces. Later, the ship was named Siskin AMS and used as a Naval Reserve training ship.

Submitted photo

Margie Thompson, 15, holding flowers stands with dignitaries for the christening of YMS-425. It was a great memory and a moment she would cherish for a long time, but the war ended and Thompson met her husband, Dick Thompson, and started a family. The Thompsons built a house with a view of the Columbia River.

The ReunionFor years, the Thompsons went on with their lives, remembering the christening on occasion, but for the most part, she let the event slip into history in much the same way most people let thoughts of childhood take a back seat to more pressing elements of the day.

Dick Thompson was looking for information about the YMS-425 on the Internet when he found a group of former crew members.

“I was just kind of fooling around with the computer one day when I punched in YMS-425 and a Web site came up,” Dick Thompson said. “That’s how we found these fellas were going to have a reunion.”

Dick Thompson started a correspondence with former members of the crew who were pleased to hear the woman who christened YMS-425 was still around. He was also happy to learn the former crew members were going to have a reunion this year in Pensacola, Fla.

“Usually at the reunions, the sponsor, the person who christened the ship, isn’t there because they were dignitaries, a senator’s wife or a ship yard owner’s wife. They were older women. Well, I was just a kid,” Margie Thompson said.

The Thompsons decided a trip to meet surviving members of the YMS-425 crew was imperative.

The Thompsons drove more than 6,300 miles in their RV during the round-trip excursion to Florida, a trip 58 years in the making, and according Margie Thompson, well worth the wait.

“We had a wonderful time. The wives were so nice. They said ‘you cannot believe how thrilled my husband was that you would travel all this way to be here at the reunion.'” said Margie Thompson

Dick Thompson added “Grown men cried when they hugged her. They were totally overwhelmed to see Margie.”

The men of YMS-425 treated Thompson as if she were part of the crew, and credited her with the ship’s longevity. When it came time to take a group photo of former crew, Thompson was the only woman in the picture.

Festivities at the reunion included tours of the military facilities in Pensacola and the surrounding areas, and chances to visit and get to know the people that the Thompsons think of as long-lost family. The crew shared outstanding, albeit sometimes exaggerated, stories about life onboard YMS-425.

One man claimed to have the most important job on the ship – he was the cook. Other crew members jeered and said he was really just the dishwasher.

There were many stories to share and emotions to relive for the crew members, and during the weekend in Pensacola, each crew member took time to thank Thompson for what she had done.

On the last morning of the reunion a memorial service was held to remember fallen crew members. It was a moment in Margie Thompson’s mind when she put herself on board YMS-425.

“It just kind of brought tears to my eyes a because they were 18- and 19-year-old kids, and at times they were scared. I’d never really thought that they were people just like me. I always though of them as servicemen.” said Margie Thompson.

The ProclamationJune 2004 marks the 60th anniversary of D-day, the day allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy and secured a foothold in Europe that would eventually prove to be a major turning point of World War II. It also marks the 60th anniversary of the day the foundation of YMS-425 was laid at Astoria Marine Construction.

In conjunction with these days, Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen proclaimed June 6, 2004 YMS-425 Day and issued an invitation to all who served on the ship to visit Astoria.

“They were thrilled with the proclamation,” said Margie Thompson when she relayed the message to members of the ship’s crew. “All of them won’t be coming, but some will be able to make it next year.”

On the experience as a whole, the Thompsons said they were deeply touched and hope there will be more reunions in the future.

“Throughout the years, it was a good memory, you know, in my dad’s honor, but now after all of this we’ve made friends that we are going to be in touch with for the rest of our lives.”