My first introduction to the Bonnie Dick was when I was in boot camp circa 63. My Company Commander (DI equivalent) served in the Bonnie Dick. As we looked out the windows of our barracks we could see her moored over at North Island NAS, San Diego with the bright "31" on her island all aglow at night.
Later while serving in the fleet, we worked on many of the Bonnie's piping systems and we seemed to serve at corresponding times in WESTPAC.
It's always sad to read about a man-of-war being sold for scrap. My ship suffered the same fate after it had been sold to the Turkish Navy. Seems criminal to consider what was our "home" for so many years is sold for bid for scrap. Some of the "lucky" ships were later used as targets, sinking to Davy Jones Locker in one final act of honor to the United States of America and The US Navy.
On the bright side, perhaps some of that recycled steel will be part of the machinery that takes down SADDAM and Al Quida.