Posted on 03/02/2007 5:43:53 AM PST by PajamaTruthMafia
Beloved “Big John,” the USS John F. Kennedy, is armed and ready for the thousands expected to flood the South Boston docks this weekend for a final salute to the Camelot-burnished carrier
“I don’t think there could be a more fitting place for the JFK to make a final port than the city of Boston,” said Rear Adm. H. Denby Starling II.
Starling, in charge of decommissioning the JFK, told the Herald the crew has planned hard for this pivotal weekend. They are expecting more than 60,000 visitors Saturday and Sunday.
Crowds will see level-orange security complete with metal detectors and armed Navy guards - the M-16s were in full view yesterday - along with bomb-sniffing dogs.
And if you want to pass muster, report early to avoid the rush.
“The line is going to get really long really fast,” said Cmdr. Chris Sims. He said the Navy would “cap” the line as early as noon to make sure everyone sees the ship before the 5 p.m. closing. Sims predicted lines will begin before sunrise, but nobody will be allowed on board until 8 a.m.
What you’ll see is an aircraft carrier polished and proud. The view from the flight deck puts you almost eye-to-eye with the city’s skyscrapers while jets land over the bow at Logan International Airport.
Portraits of former captains line the walls and the crew is ready to sell T-shirts and hats (at $20 each).
“This is history sitting right here!” said Janet Ellis, who flew in from Jacksonville, Fla., to meet her husband as he disembarks from the vessel.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was scheduled to swear in 300 new citizens on board today, including several members of the JFK’s crew.
“She’ll always hold a special place in the hearts of our family, and I know my brother would be very proud of the skill and courage and dedication of the sailors who have served on her so well on so many major occasions over the years,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.
except for the broken ones.........
America was designed as an oil burner. Kennedys original design was as a nuke. LBJ converted it, for god knows what reason.
beloved? bejunked.
Yes. A full decade after nukes were in US Navy service.
40ft deep at low tide in the main harbor channel. The Docks and banks are about 30ft deep at low tide.
I wondered where they went.
I had heard the JFK was supposed to be a nukie but was changed. I have also heard that she was always an oil burner from blueprints forward. The carrier certainly could have been nuclear powered.
She was a great ship when i was deployed on her. she was clean, the food was grade a, the only glitch was when we sailed into the bermuda triangle, and she went dead in the water for 3 hours........
One of the most beautiful heavy cruisers ever built, the Des Moines, was parked in Phily for years, waiting for someone to take her as a museum. She almost went to Duluth, MN but peace activists stopped it. The Des Moines looked like a 3/4 size Iowa class but she's gone now.
I had a choice between the JFK homeported in NY and the Saratoga out of Mayport, FL. I wrongly chose the Saratoga. Oh she was a fine ship, but I hated NE Florida. But being from the West Coast what did I know?
Probably because he was skimming off the top on the sales of oil to fuel her......
sinkin' sarah...........i was on her sister ship, the forrestal in '79-'80.......uss zippo.
The Kitty Hawk is still active, isnt it? Its non-nuclear!
I, as I often do, stand corrected.
That's the one!!! In honor of Teddy!
Sounds like the ship is in about as good shape as Teddy's liver.
thank you very much /elvis
Kept alive to cover Yokosuka.
"sinkin' sarah...........i was on her sister ship, the forrestal in '79-'80.......uss zippo."
I was on the Sara from 77-81. She was in the Phily Shipyard the last year. You think Mayport sucked. I did love the 2 Med cruises I went on. Barcelona and Naples were a blast for a single sailor.
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