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Maury Drummond doesn’t have a naval background, and at a towering 6 feet 8 inches, he’s just 2 inches shy of grazing the steely ceilings within the USS Kidd.

But that hasn’t stopped him from creating one of Baton Rouge’s most distinctive tourist attractions, as well as restoring the battle-wounded WWII destroyer and turning it into the No. 1 destination in the historic fleet.

His love affair with the Kidd began in 1985 as a volunteer and a member of the Baton Rouge Ship Modeler’s Association. Construction had just been completed on the current USS Kidd museum building, and the ship modelers were looking for a place to host an exhibition. The model show brought 9,000 visitors to the museum that weekend and the board of directors asked Drummond if he would like to get involved as the museum chair.

“They didn’t have a whole lot of money at the time and they had this empty building,” he says. “We got involved raising some funds and moved the ship modeler’s association into the building. It went from nickels and dimes in those early years to quite expensive exhibits from the statues to the restored aircraft outside.”

A 1959 graduate of Istrouma High School, Drummond attended LSU on a basketball scholarship under Coach Jay McCreary. He graduated in 1964 with a degree in American history, then spent five years teaching civics and American history and coaching varsity basketball at his high school alma mater. Then he spent 20 years in the insurance business.

It wasn’t until later in life Drummond found a way to parlay his love of history and passion for building model ships into a second career—a labor of love, really.

Since becoming the museum’s director in 1991, Drummond has made the ship the most popular destination in the historic fleet of 119 vessels. Until Hurricane Katrina, the Kidd was also the No. 1 destination for military reunions.

“I used to have a problem asking people to spend money when I was in insurance,” he says. “But I have no problem asking for $100,000 for the Kidd because I feel so strongly about what we’re doing here. Raising funds is not hard because I have an attitude that these funds are being used to honor veterans and provide a way for our young people to learn about the history of their country.”