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Posted by: kwflatbed

A Boston city councilor is suggesting the city buy the USS John F. Kennedy from the Navy and turn the giant aircraft carrier into a museum.

According to the Boston Globe, councilor Stephen Murphy filed an order this week to explore the possibility of making "Big John" a permanent tourist attraction.

Murphy says the proposal could cost the city about $25 million.

The 1,052-foot-long carrier left Boston on March 7 to be decommissioned in Mayport, Florida later this month.

The 40-year-old ship was visited by about 51,000 people during its stay in Boston.


http://wbztv.com/topstories/local_story_075101815.html

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Posted by: coldsteel

Just an idea.... But why dont we save the 25mil and use it to shuttle the illegals back to where ever they came from and the Middelsex County Sherrifs Office can run it.....lol. Or just turn it into a bar.

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Posted by: pahapoika

of course the next question is where would you put the JFK ?

i like the idea of having it "come home". maybe Battle Ship Cove ?

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Posted by: coldsteel

Battle ship cove is a good idea.... I remember goin there as a youngster.

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Posted by: CJIS

park it next to the Salem in Quincy

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Posted by: OutOfManyOne

Park it next to the USS Constitution.

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Posted by: USMCMP5811

Outstanding Idea, Bring Big John home and park him next to the USS Massachusetts.

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Posted by: HousingCop

Park it in Southie and call it "New City Hall". Menino would have to retro-fit it so it would be blind & handicapped accessable though.

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Posted by: Killjoy

With the city crying about their budget, I doubt buying a surplus aircraft carrier is a good idea. Although, from a purely political standpoint I can see the councilmen and the Mayor buying the carrier and installing their cronies as employees at the "JFK Aircraft Carrier Museum".

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Posted by: Sniper

Deval could furnish the drapes and use surplus fighters to get back and forth from western Mass....

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Posted by: SargeLorenzo

I don't think Battleship Cove would work, The USS Massachusetts was too tall to get by the bridge there and had to be disassembled. I Think the JFK would take a hell of alot more work. See, I did pay attention as a kid.

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Posted by: Delta784

The city wouldn't "buy" the JFK, the Navy would donate it at no cost. However, the city would have to show a clear financial plan and liquid assets to ensure the project would work.

When a ship is mothballed, it takes quite a bit to get it into shape as a museum, and it just can't be tied-up to any dockspace. The 25 million would actually be a pretty good investment, considering the return in tourism dollars.

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Posted by: OutOfManyOne

They are trying to setup a museum in RI with USS Saratgo which is moored in Newport Navy Base along with another carrier there. The JFK would be nice and a huge money maker,especially in Boston.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Carrier USS Kennedy Decommissioned

MAYPORT, Fla. (AP) -- The first skipper of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy was surrounded Friday by shipmates wanting an autograph, a picture or just a chance to talk about old times.
But for Adm. Earl P. Yates, the ship's captain from 1968 to 1969, the decommissioning of "Big John" after nearly 40 years of service was a little sad.
"I feel like crying," he said.
Yates was among the 19 of 29 former Kennedy captains who attended the ceremony presided over by the final skipper, Capt. Todd Zecchin. The event ended with the lowering of the ship's flag and more than 2,000 sailors in dress blues marching off for the last time.
"What a bittersweet day. It is a glorious breath of life we've filled the ship with," Zecchin told about 7,000 former crew members and military dignitaries gathered at Mayport Naval Station, the carrier's home port for the last 12 years.
The Kennedy looked as if it had just come from the shipyard, its gray paint gleaming and its top encircled by red, white and blue bunting. As officials arrived, two volleys of six shots each were fired in salute.
The ship was active in both Iraq wars and launched aircraft into hot spots around the globe, including Afghanistan. At 1,050 feet long, it once carried a crew of about 4,600 and 70 combat aircraft. Its decommissioning crew was about 2,800.
Zecchin called the crew "a profile in courage," a reference to President Kennedy's Pulitzer-prize winning book, "Profiles in Courage."
None of the Kennedy family attended the ceremony. They said their goodbyes during a port visit to Boston about three weeks ago.
Adm. John B. Nathman, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, called the Kennedy "an icon of American might and freedom."
Gary Wright, 60, an original crew member, traveled from Baltimore to see the ceremony. The aviation technician from 1968 to 1971 said his mother still has a piece of the commissioning cake in her freezer.
"I don't know why she wants a 38-year-old piece of cake," he said.
The Kennedy entered Navy service in September 1968, more than a year after it was christened by the slain president's then-9-year-old daughter, Caroline. Its in-port cabin was designed by his widow, Jacqueline, and is the only room on a Navy ship with wood paneling, officials said. One of its paintings shows the president sailing with his daughter.
The cabin will go to a Navy museum. The carrier will be towed to Philadelphia, where it will be placed on inactive status.
The Kennedy recently served as a training platform for Navy pilots to obtain carrier landing qualification. The Navy suspended the ship's flight operations about a year ago, citing faulty landing equipment.
The decommissioning of the steam-powered Kennedy leaves the USS Kitty Hawk as the only Navy aircraft carrier that does not run on nuclear power. Zecchin is headed to Japan to supervise the decommissioning of that vessel.
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On the Net:
USS John F. Kennedy: http://navysite.de/cvn/cv67.htm

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