Navy decommissions ‘legendary’ carrier that shaped history
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shipyard workers attended the decommissioning ceremony of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. today. It served more than 50 years, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sailor attended the decommissioning ceremony of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. today. It served more than 50 years, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Following a decommissioning ceremony, two shipyard workers rode their bicycles by the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. today. It served more than 50 years, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. >> The U.S. Navy has officially decommissioned the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
During today’s ceremony at a Newport News shipyard, the USS Enterprise was described as a “legendary” vessel that helped shape history. It served more than 50 years, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Affectionately called the “Big E,” the ship retired from service in 2012. The Navy has spent the past few years defueling its reactors. The ship will eventually be taken apart and its metal recycled.
One of the Enterprise’s original sailors was 77-year-old Ray Godfrey of Bigfork, Montana. He said the ceremony was emotional for him realizing that “she’s done.”
But he said, “We started something really good.”
13 responses to “Navy decommissions ‘legendary’ carrier that shaped history”
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Big E…truly a legend.
Yes, I remember pulling up next to them and how big that ship was. Our ship was a rocking and a rollin but that ship just coasted. In port, that took up a lot of space.
Yes. Its time to move on. NCC-1701 is the future of the Enterprise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Enterprise
Yes…truly a historical legend.
Growing up in Halawa Heights above Pearl Harbor, I remember the Big “E” limping back to port with a big hole in her flight deck as a result of the tragic 1969 fire. To this very day, I’m stilled awed by the sheer size and complexity of carriers.
I remember that incident well. On the day that it pulled into Pearl after that incident, my mother took me by the pier near Makalapa to view the damage. I remember the blackened hull, evidence of the ferocity of the fire. Decades later, I ran into a Mailman from the Big Island who worked on the repair job as a welder. He told me that the flight deck was the toughest job he had ever had to do as a welder.
I doubt this will be the last named Enterprise……
The third of the Gerald Ford class carriers will also be named Enterprise. CVN-80 and the name lives on.
Star ship, Enterprise in StarTrac.
This the aircraft carrier not the sci-fi ship…..and its StarTrek not startrac
This is the…..
Well done “Big E”. WESTPAC forever!
The original Enterprise WWII should have kept its name and subsequent Enterprises should have been named Enterprise I-IV, etc. The original Enterprise has lots of history, was in many battles including the Battle of Midway which was the turning point of the war possibly saving Hawaii from being captured by the Japanese empire. Other Enterprises never saw as much action or involved in so many battles as the original Enterprise. People who lived through WWII in the Pacific really experience what sea battles were really like.
I concur!!!!!