BOSTON – The USS John F. Kennedy returned to the 35th president’s home state Thursday for the last time before it goes out of service later this month.
“Big John,” as the aircraft carrier is called, will stay in Boston for five days before heading to Florida for decommissioning. It will be maintained on inactive status in Philadelphia.
“I was a young boy on that boat, just a kid,” said Frank Tibbetts, 57, who served aboard the Kennedy from 1970 to 1972. “It was a big time in my life. I was making a buck. I was seeing the world. It was a big thrill.”
Sen. Edward Kennedy planned to go aboard the ship named for his brother today to swear in 300 U.S. citizens. The vessel will be open to the public this weekend.
The Kennedy, with a crew of about 4,600, is more than 1,050 feet long, displaces 82,000 tons and can carry 70 combat aircraft.
The ship was christened in 1967 by John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline, then 9, and it entered Navy service the following year.
One of two fossil-fuel-powered carriers left in the Navy, the Kennedy supported Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002 and 2004.
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