by Kim Cortez


Born in 1938 in the middle of Americas “Great Depression” I became Avondale Shipyards, young and small, but strong and growing. Like a centipede, my arms and legs became many and my body grew to stretch over 3 miles along the banks of my sister the Mighty Mississippi River. Located at her very lips she gave passage to the needy vessels that sought restoration at my great hands, and carried them back either up into the mist of this great nation or toward the open waters of our now ailing Gulf of Mexico to travel all over the worlds water ways and ports.

Spawning great ships, named after great leaders, conceived to defend our nation, our citizens, and our flag. And others built to deliver cargo needed throughout Gods Planet. From River boats, cruise ships, power plant, to military war ships, and even prison barges, I have produced many of the greats as well as reconditioned them when they found themselves unable to operate to their full potential.

However, my greatest accomplishments are the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and of course mouths that are Avondale Shipyard. I have had hundreds of thousands of loyal dependants that have raised their families through my gates, only to have their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren come on board to learn the art of shipbuilding and become a part of Louisiana’s proud heritage. They have been coming to me for decades in order to maintain a fairly eminence and adequate life. Loyal and true, most have stayed for decades to become protégés of my being, and great leaders whose names are still a part of the daily conversations of those who have replaced them.

Great legacies were founded from being a part of my existence, along with lifelong friendships, relationships, and marriages, both on personal and business levels. These relationships will find a gaping hole and feel a cold void at my shutdown that may take years to fill.

I am now 72 years old, and even though I am willing, the now floundering economy and downsized military dictates my demise. This will affect so many that is so dependent on my existence. Because they are my heart, suffice it to say that my heart is now broken into 5,000 pieces. I stand as proud as I ever have watching diligently as my existence is reduced to two ships, and dwindling personnel or RIF’s as they are so delicately known as today. We have all been asked to maintain our level of output, even exceed it if we can, all the while being followed by the grim reaper knowing he will take us little by little. Even the ones that survive to the end have only a life expectancy of a few years at best here.

Yes, we are ship builders, proud shipbuilders that have been slighted by counter parts as being the less important of Northrop Grumman’s Shipyards and so made to end my 72 year lifespan not with a bang, but with a whimper. I’ve watched as Northrop Grumman’s acquisition of me ended the commercial ship repair that carried me through hard times and kept me from closing my gate too often. Leaving me to depend on the only the contracts I had left to keep work flowing. But even that had to be shared with my counterpart in Mississippi, now shortening my existence because of it. My assets are many, but it is my talent that made me a force to be reckoned with in the world of shipbuilding. How sad it was to see myself as a self sufficient machine to become overmanned by hundreds and even sadder when the talents of this eclectic group had to be held back to only one causing an over run of hours and wasted time.

Time was when I could squeeze six cents from a nickel, now because of abundance overhead, paperwork, and the “work less, pay more” mentality that has taken hold of this old shipyard as well as our country, I’m lucky to get a nickel out of a dollar. We weren’t military, but like the man we honored by building a class of ships in his name…USS Bob Hope, we did good work for the military.

Another of our recent accomplishments that will go down in Avondale’s history was the completion of the LPD 21, better known as the USS New York so named in honor of 9/11 and the attacks on the World Trade Center. No one will know the pride of each individual that had a hand in its fabrication. No one can begin to understand what it meant to place a piece of that legendary place inside the bow of that ship and watch it sail off carrying the steel, the name, and probably the ghost of that historical moment. We were honored and recognized in its fabrication and its performance, and then ironically later faced letters and articles of accused substandard work on the New York’s sister ships.

I am Avondale Shipyard, and I will complete what’s left of my backlog with both pride and efficiency, because that’s the only way I know how. Afterward they can turn me into an amusement park or a world renowned shipyard again, but my passion and my heart will always be what made me Avondale Shipyard, and that is the legacy of my harvest, great ships, great leaders, and great artist in this dying industry that is ship builders…