Group trying to save the U.S.S. Ling hope final voyage will be to Kentucky museum

Lewis Palmer, above left, and Joseph Sandstrom, below, speaking to a reporter on Saturday in Hackensack about the effort to save the U.S.S. Ling, a World War II submarine that had been open to visitors in what was once called Borg Park from 1972 to late 2012, when the boat was damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Sandstrom, a police officer who lives in South Jersey, posted more than 20 photos of the sub's damaged interior on Facebook.

Editor's note: I've updated this post by adding a link to an earlier report on how the Borg family, which owned The Record of Hackensack, washed their hands of any responsibility for the U.S.S. Ling.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- "She is rough, but salvageable."

Those encouraging words from Lewis Palmer of Save the USS Ling, posted on Facebook, came after he and others boarded the flooded World War II submarine on Saturday to assess the damage from vandalism and weather, and weigh the prospects of  rescuing the boat.

The ultimate goal of Palmer and his fellow enthusiasts is to move the submarine that has worn out its welcome in Hackensack to the proposed Louisville Naval Museum on the Ohio River in Kentucky, as the museum explains:

 "Our centerpiece ship will be the USS Ling, a Balao-class submarine that was commissioned in 1944, had one patrol and then was used as a training ship until donated to the Submarine Association located in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1972.

"The Ling has been a museum and memorial since then. When Hurricane Sandy struck [in 2012], it left the museum and ship damaged. Vandals have since broken into the submarine, and it is now partially flooded. The museum closed and the ship was left to her demise. 

"Our group is working around the clock to get the submarine and restore her back to as near perfect condition as the day she was launched. She will be the centerpiece of the museum and a memorial to all the sailors who sailed on her, to all the lost sailors of the Silent Service, to the United States Navy, to the United States military and the United States. This museum will operated as a non-profit organization."

On Facebook, Palmer wrote: 

"We are going on no sleep for 2 days and a full day of work. She is rough but salvageable. I will explain more tomorrow after food and sleep." 

READ: First, the Borgs screwed Hackensack;

 now, they've turned their backs on sub veterans

The U.S.S. Ling on Saturday, above and below.