Why Barry Goes to Messina

The USS Barry (DDG 52) will be one of many international warships pulling into port in Messina this week. The purpose of the visit is to remember the humanitarian mission to Messina following the earthquake of 1908 that killed an estimated 75,000 and destroyed 91% of the structures in the city.

For a year from 1909-1910 the US Government and American Red Cross spent $450,000 and $150,000 respectively to rebuild houses in Messina and Reggio devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. In a years time, the US Navy built 1900 houses and 271 other structures in the cities to provide shelter to local residents. In total the structures built by the US Navy provided housing for over 12,000 residents, and these structures became the fixed structures the city was rebuilt around, as after a few years "The American Village" was one of the only rebuilt areas that didn't have to be 'rebuilt' again.

The Russians and British Navy's get much of the credit for the response shortly after the earthquake, but make no mistake, this is one of the high marks of the voyage of the Great White Fleet. However, it wasn't the Great White Fleet contribution that had the most impact, it was the rebuilding effort that quietly followed.

This is not a well known story, but with soft power finding new momentum in the US Navy, the Navy would be wise to review the lessons of Messina and Regina because most if not all of the lessons from that activity 100 years ago apply very well today. Few people realize that in 1909, the Italian government actually relinquished national sovereignty to an American camp inside Italy as the US Navy built what became known as "The American Village." As one of many international villages rebuilt for the estimated 60,000 residents who survived the natural disaster, The American Village was remembered as the most successful project, mostly due to the wise use of treated wood and efforts put into building foundations for the brick structures.

To read the account of the American rebuilding operation itself, check out American house building in Messina and Reggio; an account of the American naval and Red cross combined expedition, to provide shelter for the survivors of the great earthquake of December 28, 2024 (1910). Available in digital format from the University of California libraries, it is an excellent first hand account regarding naval soft power a century ago. This story is one of many brilliant accounts of the whole story, a largely unknown story about the US Navy that might be the most successful example of naval specific soft power in US history.