USS Forrestal not forgotten

The grand old lady USS Forrestal was launched 11 December 1954 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia, , sponsored by Josephine Forrestal, widow of Secretary Forrestal; and commissioned 1 October 1955, Captain R. L. Johnson in command. She was the first American aircraft carrier to be constructed with an angled flight deck, steam catapult, and landing signal lights, as opposed to having them installed after launching.

In succeeding tours of duty in the Mediterranean, the Forrestal visited many ports to "show the flag" and take on board dignitaries and the general public. For military observers she staged underway demonstrations to illustrate her capacity to bring air power to and from the sea in military operations on any scale. She was open for visitors at many ports, as well as taking part in the patrol and training schedule of the 6th Fleet. The grand old lady made history in November 1963 when on Lt. James H. Flatley III and his crew members, Lt. Cmdr. "Smokey" Stovall and Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class Ed Brennan, made 21 full-stop landings and takeoffs in a C-130 Hercules aboard the ship.

The USS Forrestal was decommissioned 11 September 1993 at Pier 6E in Philadelphia, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. After being stricken, she was heavily stripped to support the rest of the carrier fleet. On June 15, 2010 the Forrestal departed Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island, where she had been stored since 1998, under tow for the inactive ship storage facility in Philadelphia. The Forrestal is now tied up at Pier 4 in Philadelphia, next to the USS John F. Kennedy, and it is expected the ship will remain there until the Navy decides her final disposition which will consist of either being sold for scrap or sunk as a target and/or an artificial reef.
Sailors to the End : The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It