While I was in Chicago two weeks ago, my grandfather visited Pensacola, Florida, to visit the ship upon which he spent the majority of his career in the Unitest States Navy, the USS Oriskany. It was his last visit to see the ship–or what was left of it–before it was scuttled last Wednesday, 17 May 2006, to become the largest man-made reef in the world. I talked to him last week to let him know I was coming down this weekend and to find out how his trip was.
He had a good trip, and he said that it was fun to be in Pensacola for a few days. He mentioned that his last visit to the boat was kind of depressing, as it was, to use his words, “a rust-bucket.” He enjoyed Pensacola, as everything had a Navy theme–all the various street names had something nautical about them. He also mentioned that there were four different airfields for the different squadrons that are stationed there. Finally, he mentioned that the big boat was sunk stern-first into the Gulf of Mexico.
My grandfather has become a bit more active in his later years with his old naval vessel. He has attended some of the reunions hosted by the Oriskany Reunion Association, most recently last fall in Evanston, Indiana. He mentioned that The Sun carried a photo of the sinking of the “Big-O,” which of course I missed as I read all my news online these days. Nonetheless, I did a bit of searching around this morning, and there are a bunch of great photos available here, with a write-up of the sinking at DestinSharks.com.
As much grief and ribbing I and my uncle give to my grandfather about his naval service, I am proud of his service in that branch of the military. I truly enjoy seeing how proud he is of his service and how much he enjoys telling the stories of his time in the service. So, in honor of my grandfather, I say “May God bless all the brave souls who served aboard the Oriskany.”
#1 by bonanza jellybean on May 22, 2006 - 1:28 pm UTC
The carrier that my stepfather served on while I was way little is now a museum in San Diego. I would love to see it again, but have no plans to go to SD anytime soon in the future.
#2 by bonanza jellybean on May 22, 2006 - 1:28 pm UTC
The carrier that my stepfather served on while I was way little is now a museum in San Diego. I would love to see it again, but have no plans to go to SD anytime soon in the future.
#3 by the idiot's wife on June 2, 2006 - 9:42 am UTC
Not that this is really a great comment to leave, but in the interest of synchronicity…my father just returned from his flightschool reunion in Pensacola. While there he discovered that a family friend had moved down there to become the “bombadier” of these ships being turned into reefs. Apparently this guy has gone undercover because so many people are upset about this being done.
#4 by Jason J. Thomas on June 2, 2006 - 10:09 am UTC
idiot’s wife: That’s an interesting comment. My grandfather didn’t seem to have feelings about it one way or the other, but he did mention that he was a little sad to see his ship in the state it was in. It is pretty bad that a family friend has had to go into hiding as a result of his role in this.
#5 by the idiot's wife on June 2, 2006 - 9:42 am UTC
Not that this is really a great comment to leave, but in the interest of synchronicity…my father just returned from his flightschool reunion in Pensacola. While there he discovered that a family friend had moved down there to become the “bombadier” of these ships being turned into reefs. Apparently this guy has gone undercover because so many people are upset about this being done.
#6 by Jason J. Thomas on June 2, 2006 - 10:09 am UTC
idiot's wife: That's an interesting comment. My grandfather didn't seem to have feelings about it one way or the other, but he did mention that he was a little sad to see his ship in the state it was in. It is pretty bad that a family friend has had to go into hiding as a result of his role in this.