I made this photograph as our ship sailed past a dry-docked World War II destroyer, the USS Kidd. I abstract it by exposing for the sky, instead of the ship, thereby creating both a silhouette and far more detail in the threatening clouds overhead.The ship becomes a symbol, allowing the viewer to project his or her own imagination on to the image. It rests on a cradle, keeping it high and dry at the end of the year. When the annual snowmelt raises the level of the Mississippi, the ship lifts off its cradle and floats in its mooring. Here a worker handles maintenance on bow of the ship, lending scale and bringing a touch of human values to the scene. On April 11, 1945, a Japanese suicide plane struck the USS Kidd during the battle for Okinawa. Thirty-eight American sailors lost their lives, and fifty-five others were wounded. The ship, now a memorial to those men, is under the supervision of the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. My image speaks to the memory of those men, and that war.