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CNN Live Sunday
Interview With Bobbie Scholley
Aired August 04, 2002 - 18:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Navy divers are working to raise a part of Civil War history off the ocean floor near North Carolina. But heavy currents underwater delayed their work this morning. They want to use a heavy cable, a sling, to lift the 120-ton gun turret of the ironclad USS Monitor. A large portion of the ship's hull was recovered last year. The ship sank during a storm in 1862, taking the 16-man crew to the bottom. The expedition found a skeleton inside the turret. It's believed to be one of the ship's sailors. The wreckage wasn't found until 1973.
Now, joining us from the site is Commander Bobbie Scholley. She is the on-seen commander of the Monitor expedition, in charge of all the divers involved in this project. Good to have you.
CMDR. BOBBIE SCHOLLEY, MONITOR EXPEDITION: Good afternoon, Carol, how are you doing.
LIN: Well, this must be a disappointment today. What's going on?
SCHOLLEY: Well, actually, a little bit of a disappointment. We woke up this morning hoping that the weather would cooperate, but of course, off of Cape Hatteras, you never know. So now, we're looking at the weather, trying to be patient and wait for it to calm down a little bit. But we're also doing some other preparations to make sure that we're absolutely ready to go as soon as the weather calms down.
LIN: Can you tell us a little bit more about the skeleton that you found underneath the turret?
SCHOLLEY: Well, it was actually inside the turret. And it was found during the excavation to get as much of the sand and silt and artifacts out of the turret, prior to lifting it. And we've recovered most of it, and have turned that over to an expert that was on board, helping us from the U.S. Army's Central Identification Lab in Hawaii. So we had the expertise on board to handle this, and I have -- taken care of it so far.
LIN: By the way you found the remains, can you put together some sort of a scenario of what happened, what the scene was like when the Monitor went down?
SCHOLLEY: Well, that's part of the whole reason that we're trying to recover this, and something that the archaeologists will be able to do after they collect more data. And of course, once we get the turret on deck, they'll have a better opportunity to do some more investigation inside the turret, to work those details out.
LIN: One hundred and twenty tons. That is amazing. How delicate an operation is this?
SCHOLLEY: Well, it's a very complex and delicate operation. The main challenge here is to get it away from the Monitor without damaging either the rest of the Monitor or the turret itself, and bring it back up on deck and set it down carefully on the barge that we're lifting off from. And because of that weight and the winds and seas that we're working with, we just have to wait for the right moment so that we can operate this huge, 500-ton crane and make this lift safe.
LIN: From an historical perspective, commander, what does this mean to you to be part of this project and witness what you're seeing?
SCHOLLEY: Oh, actually, it's just a wonderful project to be involved with. It's part of our Navy history, and actually a part of -- and the fact that we get to bring back a piece of such a significant ship in Naval history, really is important to all the sailors on board.
LIN: What have you learned so far from what's been found on the Monitor?
SCHOLLEY: Well, we are hoping to be able to look at the technology and the significance of the ship. But more importantly, this gives us an opportunity to bring back a piece of history that can be put on display and enjoyed by generations and generations to come. So, we're hoping to make that available to everyone.
LIN: Well, Commander Bobbie Scholley, I wish you luck. Tomorrow, may mother nature be on your side and you can get that gun turret up and learn even more.
SCHOLLEY: Thank you so much.
LIN: Good luck to your drivers and stay safe. We're excited to find what you find.
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