USS Carson bell finds permanent home

The only ship to be named after Nevada's capital, the USS Carson City will forever be remembered after the ship's bell was officially welcomed home Friday afternoon and placed permanently in the foyer of City Hall.

"I am so pleased that we are here to rededicate this bell in a proper location," said Mayor Ray Masayko during the ceremony. "We are very pleased to provide a permanent home for the bell of the USS Carson City."

The bell will not be the only reminder of the 303-foot patrol frigate which served in World War II.

Retired Navy Commander Robert Brogan donated a bayonet and scabbard with USS Carson City PF 50 inscribed in the handle.

Brogan purchased the bayonet about 22 years ago for $50.

"It's been at home all these years," he said. "It's as sharp as the day it was born."

But Brogan wanted something more for the keepsake.

"I've waited for a long time to find an appropriate time to give it to Carson City," he said. "Mayor, here it is."

Both artifacts will be displayed in a glass case with plaques explaining their significance.

The bell survived the ship's decommissioning in 1971 and had been lent by the Navy to the little town of Yellow Pine, Idaho.

It was found 21 years later by Lahontan Valley News/Fallon Eagle-Standard publisher David Henley, who asked Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., to help return the bell to Carson City.

Bryan was scheduled to have attended the ceremony but was delayed by an ice storm in Oklahoma.

"His intentions were perfect," Masayko said. "Sen. Bryan may not be here in person, but he is here in spirit."