What a legacy this carrier had...I got to go onboard during the war and often saw her in the Tonkin Gulf.. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The U.S. Navy has officially decommissioned the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. During Friday'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."
Beautiful ship. Never served on the Enterprise. During my time in the Marine Corps, I did serve on an assault aircraft carrier (helicopters). The Navy food was so much better than what the Corps feed us.
UCD and I both served on the Blue Ridge...command ship of the 7th fleet..we even had a bakery on board
Actually, back then Blue Ridge was the flagship of just the Amphibious Fleet in the Pacific. When it came to working with the LPHs @oldfisherman rode on, we hung out with the New Orleans and the Okinawa. They were scrap heaps built on WWII escort carrier hulls. We had to tow the Okinawa once when they had a boiler explosion. Killed two guys. Blue Ridge was a luxury yacht in comparison to those helicopter carriers......though they did get a lot of PR for always getting to pluck the returning astronauts out of the drink, so their food quality was supposedly better than most.....
I did 2/2/2 and 80 shifts in the radio shack...so the two night shifts...I made friends with those bakers...best kitchen I ever saw on a ship
The replacement, CVN-80 is on the books to continue the legacy of the Big E, the USS Enterprise. The original Carrier with the name was CV-6, she earned the nick name the Big E, participating in nearly every Carrier battle in the Pacific during WWII, including the huge victory at the Battle of Midway. Most historians credit the Battle of Midway the turning point in the war in the Pacific, where four Japanese Carriers were sunk, compared to the US Navy's loss of the USS Yorktown. The other US Carrier in the battle, the USS Hornet was sunk a few month later in the South Pacific, leaving the USS Enterprise, the only US Navy Carrier in the Pacific. She Showed up so many places during this time, she confused the Japanese who never did realize the US had only one Carrier left. During this run, she earn another nickname, the Grey Ghost. The Enterprise and the Hornet were the Carriers that launched the Doolittle raid on Japan in 1942, so they were the mythical place of Shangri-La, FDR gave as the origin of the planes in that raid. It seems fitting that a US Navy continues to have a USS Enterprise, perhaps the most famous name in Naval history.
Took a couple moments to find a picture not on my facebook... Then a couple more minutes to crop my friend out, because she doesn't need to be shown... But now I'm at a loss on how to attach a photo to this site from my cpu... Lets see if I can figure it out. Oh, theres an upload a file button, convenient. Not sure if I look like John Heard or not...
Look like a twinkle in UCD's eye...I posted old John Heard...young John Heard though....the resemblance in uncanny!
