UPDATED WITH STORY: Veteran divers gather for rally in Morgan City

Saturday was Bob’s day in the spotlight, along with scores of people who performed pioneering, often dangerous work in the early days of offshore energy production.
Bob is the nickname for the Oilfield Divers Monument, a life-sized statue of a diver placed in the monument park near Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. A 10 a.m. ceremony at the statue was part of the annual Oilfield Divers Rally.
“It’s been an amazing journey with Bob,” said Bryce Merrill, curator of the Diving & ROV Historical Preservation Museum associated with the Mr. Charlie rig museum.
That’s one connection. Another is with South Louisiana Community College’s Young Memorial campus, home to a commercial diving program that organizers of the Oilfield Divers Monument have supported with scholarships.
More support for the program is on the way. Lana Fontenot, SoLAcc’s vice chancellor for institutional advancement and external relations, announced that U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins included a $1 million appropriation for the commercial diving program in the federal budget.
Fontenot noted that Young Memorial has one of only two public college diving schools and draws students from across the country.
“Morgan City and St. Mary Parish are so special to me …,” Fontenot said. “This is one of my favorite spots to come to.”
State Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin, praised the college’s role in technical education, especially for those who don’t want to pursue a traditional college degree.
“We need to go and show it’s not just college or not college,” Allain said.
“It’s just part of our community,” Morgan City Councilwoman Bonnie Leonard said.
The Oilfield Divers Monument website said divers worked as early as the late 1800s, divers were part of oil production, making over-water rigs possible.
“These divers courageously worked in extremely hazardous conditions, and by the late 1950s, diving had become an essential function in offshore petroleum operations,” the website says. “These dedicated individuals have been involved at every step, contributing to the construction, installation, repair, and salvage of offshore platforms and pipelines. It is crucial to recognize their monumental contributions both now and in the future.”
About the time platforms were being built out of sight of land, “the efforts of these individuals evolved into a profession, giving rise to professional oilfield divers. These divers and the companies they established made remarkable discoveries, breakthroughs, and continuous improvements to the profession, including safety procedures.
“Their accomplishments have had far-reaching impacts, influencing various industries such as robotics, medicine, and space exploration.”
Saturday’s ceremony included a moment of silence for diving veterans who died in the last year.