Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408210102
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: MAYPORT, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
The aircraft carrier, as long as the Empire State Building is tall, saw duty in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War, off the Cuban coast during the 1962 missile crisis and in the Persian Gulf War.
"At times, when I stand on the pier and look up at this grand old lady, there is an almost lifelike sense about her," said Capt. William H. Kennedy, the Saratoga's final commanding officer. "Sort of a proud warrior who has come home to retire, knowing full well, `We did it. Mission accomplished.' "
It was freshly painted gray for the ceremony. About 5,000 people came to say goodbye.
A few minutes after Kennedy's speech, the 2,800 sailors aboard the carrier marched off, and the commissioning pennant was lowered for the final time.
The Saratoga was the second carrier built after World War II and the sixth U.S. vessel to bear the name. More than 60,000 men served on board, said Adm. Jerry "Mike" Boorda, chief of naval operations.
Saratoga pilots shot down the first two enemy MiG-21 aircraft of the Persian Gulf War.
In 1985, when terrorists escaped after hijacking the Achille Lauro cruise ship and killing an American, seven F-14 "Tomcats" from the Saratoga forced their jet to land in Italy, where the hijackers were captured.
Its final deployment, which ended June 24, was in the Mediterranean, supporting the operations of NATO and the United Nations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But the ship also knew its share of tragedy. In December 1990, 21 crew members were killed when a ferryboat sank while returning them from liberty in Haifa, Israel.
And two years ago, crew members mistakenly fired into a Turkish ship during NATO exercises, killing five Turkish sailors.
The ceremony concluded with a flyover of FA-18 and S-3 jets and a moment of silence for those killed in the line of duty.
If $4.5 million can be raised in the next few months, the 1,063-foot ship is destined to become a floating naval museum in Jacksonville.
by CNB