Know any U.S. cities seeking USS JFK as museum ship?

[jrsteven00]

Hi all,
I am writing a magazine article on the donation of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) as a museum ship and memorial. As you might now, the JFK is the most recent ship placed in Donation/Hold status. She’s currently berthed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard (actually, in the Delaware River because she’s too big to fit into the inner basin there). I went down to see her last week. Impressive sight.

The navy’s application deadline for cities and organizations seeking to host JFK was this past Friday - January 22, 2010.

So far I’ve heard of only one city - Portland, Maine - that has applied for the JFK. Boston is another logical applicant, but I’m not sure they got their application together in time. Jacksonville, FL, Miami, FL, and Pensacola, FL are other cities I’ve heard rumors about.

Are you aware of any cities or organizations that have applied to receive the USS John F. Kennedy as a museum ship? Have there been any efforts from your home city?

Please respond to this thread, or email me at jstevenson51-at-hotmail.com to let me know what you can.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Jason Stevenson
freelance writer
jstevenson51-at-hotmail.com

[RF]

I am surprised that there is no application from Boston, as you say it is a logical place for it to reside.

[jrsteven00]

I've learned that there are two cities vying for the ex-USS John F. Kennedy, the conventional-powered aircraft carrier the Navy has decided to donate as a museum ship/memorial.

One is Portland, Maine. But I don't know the other city.
Does anyone know the identify of the other city/organization in the hunt?
There has to be some media coverage of the effort - as the organization would need the approval of the local and state officials to submit an application. And geography dictates that the city is on the East Coast.

Please respond to this thread, or email me at jstevenson51-at-hotmail-dot-com to let me know what you can.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Jason Stevenson
freelance writer
jstevenson51-at-hotmail-dot-com

[Legend]

I did a search and found there was something in the Forum/Site

http://supportyourlocalgunfighter.com/2 ... or-a-home/

Due to the trigger happy blocking system on my school computer I was not able to acess the actual site... but from the google page I saw some promising titles and content.

Hope this helps,
Sincerely,
Legend

[RF]

The suggestion appears to be Camden, New Jersey. I've never heard of the place and the reference might be in jest.

[yellowtail3]

The suggestion appears to be Camden, New Jersey. I've never heard of the place and the reference might be in jest.

BB-62 is in Camden, which is a generally nasty town.

[hammy]

The suggestion appears to be Camden, New Jersey. I've never heard of the place and the reference might be in jest.

BB-62 is in Camden, which is a generally nasty town.

Spoken like a true gentleman of the South sir !

I take it Camden is "The Home Of The Brave" then -- i.e. you'd have to be brave to live there ! !

Sorry , no offense meant !

[Karl Heidenreich]

USS New Jersey is at Camden but several persons has told me that if I want to go to her it`s better to come from the other side. I wonder why...

[RF]

Not much chance of it going to Dixie then?

[lwd]

Wonder if anyone has looked at running her as a combination museum power plant?

[yellowtail3]

Spoken like a true gentleman of the South sir !
I take it Camden is "The Home Of The Brave" then -- i.e. you'd have to be brave to live there ! ! Sorry , no offense meant !

Camden is grim; I've been there. Here's a photo I took a couple years ago, from the Philly side of the river:

Penns landing 14 April Saturday 2007 007 (Small).jpg (37.48 KiB) Viewed 287 times

[jrsteven00]

The second city vying for the JFK is still a mystery. Jacksonville is not it. And they just got a real nuclear carrier homeported there.

And here's the article on the JFK donation I wrote for Portland (Maine) magazine:

http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/ ... am-boat-2/

-JS

[chcrawfish]

I don't know why any city would want that rustbucket. I went to sea many times abord the JFK, and she was absolutely horrible. Her material condition was abysmal, and the crew morale was even worse. There were holes in the catwalks big enough for a man to fall through, and they were patched with plywood and safety wire. 4 of her 8 boilers were kaput. Ditto for 2 of her 4 catapaults. When two of the 4 arrestor wire engines died, they finally decertified her for fixed wing operations. The one thing she was good for was training Damage Control crews, since there was at least one fire aboard every day, and at least once per week there was flooding in some compartment. She was also quite unclean in comparison to every other carrier I sailed on.

[Karl Heidenreich]

chcrawfish:

I don't know why any city would want that rustbucket. I went to sea many times abord the JFK, and she was absolutely horrible. Her material condition was abysmal, and the crew morale was even worse. There were holes in the catwalks big enough for a man to fall through, and they were patched with plywood and safety wire. 4 of her 8 boilers were kaput. Ditto for 2 of her 4 catapaults. When two of the 4 arrestor wire engines died, they finally decertified her for fixed wing operations. The one thing she was good for was training Damage Control crews, since there was at least one fire aboard every day, and at least once per week there was flooding in some compartment. She was also quite unclean in comparison to every other carrier I sailed on.

[yellowtail3]

She was also quite unclean in comparison to every other carrier I sailed on.

sounds like a serious leadership problem. What years were you onboard?