Fairwell to an old girlfriend

By: Bill Noonan, JO1, USN (Ret)

I was one of hundreds who flocked to Pensacola, Florida to bid "good bye" to an old girl friend, the second weekend in May. The old girl friend was the retired attack aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CV-34) that was in the final stages of becoming the first aircraft carrier to be sunk and turned into an artificial reef. Oriskany was my first ship, and most sailors have a special feeling for their first ship, no matter how many ship’s they had served aboard.

Over 400 former crew members attended several events leading up to the May 17^th reefing.

The first "unofficial" activity was the afternoon of May 13^th, when several boat trips

were made for the former crew to get a "close up" view of the veteran carrier. There were about 20 former sailors who took the two hour trip, on my boat. Most had not seen the Oriskany in more than 30 to 40 years. Also there were two cameramen, for the Discovery Channel, who are documenting the entire reefing process. We spent almost an hour cruising off the ship’s Port side, while a Navy zodiac patrolled the area to keep spectators from coming too close to the ship. On the boat I ran into Ron Thomas from Omaha, NE, who I initially met when he had been a visitor on the USS Lexington, where I serve as a volunteer tour guide, after the Oriskany left Corpus Christi. I had e-mailed him some of the photos I had taken as the "Big O" passed in front of the Lexington.

About two hours later the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce hosted a reception for the former crew members at the National Museum of Naval Aviation on board NAS Pensacola. All the featured speakers echoed the same though, the "spirit" of Oriskany. The Pensacola Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution began the program by presenting the colors, and the National Anthem was performed by the Naval Air Technical Training Center Aviation Vocal Team. This was followed by the invocation offered by retired Cmdr (chaplain) Robert Price. He was an enlisted member of Heavy Attack Squadron Four, Det. GOLF aboard the Big O.

Pensacola Mayor Emeritus Vince Whibbs and U.S. District Judge Lacy Miller also commented on the "Spirit" of the Oriskany.

Former CO Capt. Jack Kenyon commanded the ship in 1968-69, named all 22 ship CO’s and had those in the audience to stand and be recognized when their "Skippers" were named. I stood 4 times, for the four CO’s I served under, during my two tours aboard the ship. Capt. Kenyon ended his potion of the program by having those assembled sing "God Bless America. This part of the program held in a flight deck simulated area around a reproduction of the island structure of the USS Cabot. The featured speakers were on the bridge level in the area that would have been occupied by the Air Boss.

Also speaking was retired Capt. Robert Rasmusen who served aboard Oriskany with Fighter Squadron 111 (1967-1969) and again with Carrier Division Seven (1971-72). Among Capt. Rasmussen’s comments was that the Oriskany was "a ship among ships, and few who served aboard will ever forget." Rear Admiral Charles S. Hamilton II, Program Executive Officer for Ships also spoke of the Oriskany and her "special spirit." Admiral Hamilton was followed, on the program by U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller. Sitting behind me was a retired Master Chief, from Chicago, IL. who was a third class when the ship suffered a major fire in 1966. He told me that he had joined the Navy with his best friend, under the buddy system. The Master Chief said that his best friend was in the ship’s hobby shop, which is across from the Public Affairs office, when the fire erupted and he was killed.

There was a viewing of a specially prepared movie about the long career of the veteran carrier in the museum’s I-Max theater. Sitting beside me was a woman from Sue Saint Marie who told me that her brother was working in the Public Affairs Office when the tragic fire happened (The entire Public Affairs staff was killed in the fire). I told her that a little over a year ago I was able to board the Oriskany while she was here in Corpus Christi, and I was able to get into the Public Affairs Office, where I said a quick prayer, for the enlisted journalists who died in the fire. She thanked me and told me that no one ever says anything about the enlisted people killed in the fire.

Since before her decommissioning the Oriskany seemed to be fighting to postpone the decommissioning. On the way back from the Western Pacific we ran into a typhoon and lost some of our catwalk. After being retired the veteran carrier seemed to have a number of obstiles to overcome. She was sold for scrap, but while being towed the scrapping company went out of business. When Oriskany was sent to Corpus Christi, Texas serval obsticals came up delaying the eventual reefing. On May 13^th while on the boat trip to see the ship several people asked if they thought the reefing was going to be held on schedule. At that time I said I didn’t know, but began to get the feeling that the tired ship had stopped fighting to stay afloat and her spirit seemed to say she had resolved herself to her fate.

I didn’t stay for the reefing, but left Pensacola on Mother’s Day to be home with my family.

The day following the reefing I noted that Oriskany had indeed resolved herself to her fate and observed that it took slightly more than a half hour to sink, not the five to eight hours that had been suggested by the engineers.

I last saw the "Big O" as the plane was climbing from about 10,000 ft to around 15,000 ft en- route to our cruising altitude. As the carrier became smaller and smaller I reflected in the knowledge that she is in the final stages of surface service, but know she will continue serving and benefitting the country as an artificial reef, and that part of the Oriskany still lives on aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (a floating museum) in Corpus Christi. Many items salvaged from the Oriskany are being used on the Lexington. Back home in Corpus Christi, Texas on May 17^th I was volunteering on the flight deck of the Lexington as the Oriskany was sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Several times I looked out over Corpus Christi Bay and thought of the many achievements the Oriskany, truly "A ship among ship" had achieved.