Your comment saddens me deeply.
The Connie and the Kitty Hawk were indeed the heavy lifters within the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club.
I have very fond memories of my time as a young Commander, landing aboard the Hawk in 1966-67, when delivering Alfa Strike targets to CCD-5 (CTF-77) from TSN (as the C7F/7AF joint strike coordinator, for Vadm. Hyland.
I can state without caveat that Kitty Hawk was the finest carrier I ever was associated with —bar none. And my log book contains landings aboard well over a dozen carriers, in the course of my career.
Kitty Hawk was in a class alone — heads and shoulders above its contemporaries.
Let the old lady fly the Ensign from her truk as long as she can make steam. She serves our Republic with valor and intrepidity. Thank you.
Thank you for your service, Sir.
Regards,