The whole "tribute" thing.

[Trekker4747]

So many keep saying the Enteprise was built in Iowa as a "tribute" to George Kirk's heroics in saving the Kelvin crew.

So, as a person dubious to this I have to scratch my head and say... "Really?"

What, prey-tell, did he do that was so special? The Kelvin was ambushed in an attack, Kirk took command and through some heroics saved the bulk of the crew. Though I doubt it's common, but I suspect ships are frequently getting destroyed, attacked, or otherwise put in peril. Is every officer who does things of a heroic nature given such a tribute?

What made Kirk's sacrafice so special?

 

[Franklin]

Frankly, I agree with you. Just a few minutes ago, I pretty much posted the same sentiments in another thread. To me, it would've been just fine to say the shipyard was already there, and they renamed it for their fallen home-town hero in his honor. Of course it's a bit of a tempest in a teapot, because it's never mentioned on screen, so the explanation for the shipyard being there is not canon, anyway.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I'm with something Franklin said (edit: and apparently just beat me to restating here ) regarding this: the shipyard was there already, and due to its proximity to where George Kirk lived on Earth it was renamed in his honor after the destruction of the Kelvin. That's a more reasonable level of tribute - especially if the shipyard wasn't named for anything special before that anyway.

And, for all we know, this could be circular - maybe the reason George had his Earth-based residence there was because of the shipyard in the first place.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Aside from saving 800 lives, he sacrificed his own to let the shuttles get away, all while his new baby was being born. Anyone else might have said "screw it" and gotten into a shuttlecraft and taken his chances. By staying onboard he could operate the ship manually, taking out the weapons that were aiming for shuttles. If he hadn't done that, many, if not all of the escaping shuttles would have been destroyed by Nero's weapons. We see in fact, him do just that at least once during that segment.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I suspect ships are frequently getting destroyed, attacked, or otherwise put in peril. Is every officer who does things of a heroic nature given such a tribute?

People's memories are short - maybe it was the most heroic thing in a decade or two, and media coverage and Starfleet propaganda turned him into a Big Damned Hero even further.

Besides, there are levels of tribute appropriate for everything it would seem. Look at the overpasses named for state senators, and stretches of road named for fallen police officers. They named a toilet on the ISS for Stephen Colbert.

 

[Franklin]

Aside from saving 800 lives, he sacrificed his own to let the shuttles get away, all while his new baby was being born. Anyone else might have said "screw it" and gotten into a shuttlecraft and taken his chances. By staying onboard he could operate the ship manually, taking out the weapons that were aiming for shuttles. If he hadn't done that, many, if not all of the escaping shuttles would have been destroyed by Nero's weapons. We see in fact, him do just that at least once during that segment.

You say anyone else might have said, "Screw it," and abandoned ship. I can't believe this, either. I'd like to think that any Starfleet officer is capable of uncommon valor in an uncommon situation. I think that's the OP's point, too. This was a truly heroic sacrifice on his part. He could've escaped with his life. But duty required otherwise. He was doing what a captain was supposed to do, fight and die to save his crew. Picard would've done it. Kirk would've done it. Sisko would've done it. Janeway would've done it. Spock did it (TWOK). Decker went mad from punishing himself in "The Doomsday Machine" because he didn't do it.
I see no reason not to honor his sacrifice by renaming an existing shipyard after him. Heroism deserves some tribute. But building an entire ship-building complex in his honor?

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Ok, maybe saying "screw it" was going overboard, but I don't necessarily believe that EVERYone else would have done the same thing. His wife just gave birth to his son...and that adds alot more angst to the situation, at least i think so. And he didn't just ram the Kelvin into the Narada, he kept his cool, and continued to manually aimed for the torpedos (or whatever they were called) and take them out as they were already on their way to hit the shuttlecrafts.

Of course, this is all a subjective thing. But i really have no problem with something as major as this being named in his honor.

 

[Franklin]

Ok, maybe saying "screw it" was going overboard, but I don't necessarily believe that EVERYone else would have done the same thing. His wife just gave birth to his son...and that adds alot more angst to the situation, at least i think so. And he didn't just ram the Kelvin into the Narada, he kept his cool, and continued to manually aimed for the torpedos (or whatever they were called) and take them out as they were already on their way to hit the shuttlecrafts.

Of course, this is all a subjective thing. But i really have no problem with something as major as this being named in his honor.

Maybe this was an unusual act. God knows that over the years in Trek shows we have certainly seen our share of dysfunctional Starfleet officers; officers who snapped under pressure; and some who were just downright insane or incompetent. Too many, really.

I wonder how they honored Robau? What he did was heroic in its own right.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

^ Heh, thats so true.

 

[Jeri]

The reason heroism is celebrated is to encourage the living; the dead don't know about it.

 

[Aike]

I wonder how they honored Robau? What he did was heroic in its own right.

They renamed Rhode Island.

 

[barnaclelapse]

Aside from saving 800 lives, he sacrificed his own to let the shuttles get away, all while his new baby was being born. Anyone else might have said "screw it" and gotten into a shuttlecraft and taken his chances. By staying onboard he could operate the ship manually, taking out the weapons that were aiming for shuttles. If he hadn't done that, many, if not all of the escaping shuttles would have been destroyed by Nero's weapons. We see in fact, him do just that at least once during that segment.

I know I would have.

I can always have more kids.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Aside from saving 800 lives, he sacrificed his own to let the shuttles get away, all while his new baby was being born. Anyone else might have said "screw it" and gotten into a shuttlecraft and taken his chances. By staying onboard he could operate the ship manually, taking out the weapons that were aiming for shuttles. If he hadn't done that, many, if not all of the escaping shuttles would have been destroyed by Nero's weapons. We see in fact, him do just that at least once during that segment.

Do we? I will have to look out for that. I don't remember seeing him actually destroying weapons aimed at the shuttles. In fact I wondered if Nero even bothered aiming at the shuttles, I thought he might have been satisfied with blowing up the Kelvin, seeing as how he is a big picture kinda guy.

 

[Jeri]

He pulls the lever, and we see a torpedo taken out, headed for Shuttle 37, the medical shuttle.

 

[Franklin]

He pulls the lever, and we see a torpedo taken out, headed for Shuttle 37, the medical shuttle.

Yep. I got your back on this one Jeri. He may not have known it, but, he saved his wife's life, his son's life, and the lives of all those on that shuttle. Can't say I noticed it in the theater caught up in it all, but I noticed it the first time I watched the DVD.

 

[M'Sharak]

Isn't there also a line of dialogue about how George has to keep fighting off the torpedoes so that the shuttles can get away?


M', still hasn't been able to sit down with the DVD

 

[Voyagerian]

Yep, Winona is saying he should be there or etc and he explains that he has to stay behind and protect the shuttles....

 

[Jeri]

Hey, thanks Franklin, my bud.