Storied carrier, 'the Big E,' makes final voyage

Associated Press (AP) ^ | Sat, Mar 10, 2012 | BROCK VERGAKIS

[IronJack]

Obummer will name the next Carrier the ``Manifesto``

Or "Potemkin".

[LomanBill]

[If your GPS fails you best know how to use a map & compass. Just sayin’.]

We’ve got an entire generation of pink shirt wearing Useful Idiot fodder who can’t even change the oil in their car — let alone strike up a stick of 6013 to fix a broken tie rod or calculate a back-azimuth in the middle of the Mojave.

There’s no GameBoy for that.

[stevie_d_64]

When I was in the Fleet...We used to plane guard for the Big E on a regular basis...What was funny, if there was no way top find the course and speed for proper winds for launch and recovery of aircraft...

They made their own winds...Yeah, they could go very fast...

Try keeping up with something like that (at apsecific spot, or station) was kinda frustrating...I think it was an unspoken agreementy that those ships designated to work that plane guard duty just had to kind be in the area to help pick up the crews if they ended up in the drink...

Which I never heard happening in my carreer off that carrier...

Now the USS Ranger??? That was a different story...It didn’t get the un-official moniker of “Danger Ranger” for nothing...No offense intended to guys who served on that ship...hehe

There used to be a story hanging around out there that they once saw a rooster tail coming out the back of the Big E when they were at speed...

That might have been something neat to see...I can neither confirm, or deny, that I ever saw that occur...;-)

[elcid1970]

MIG welding is fun & easy but there’s nothing like stick to get ‘er done. Pays better, too.

Off topic already, but a friend of ours who is already forty (!) saw my turntable & stack of LP’s, and asked “what are those?”

Needs a calculator to multiply & divide, and she’s superb in her job, just utterly dependent on chip driven technology.

G-d help us if there is a EMP attack.

[gg63]

What was Matthias Gardner like? I am very interested in learning more about him.

[wjcsux]

I met him when I lived in Las Cruces in the late 80’s. I was a Cubmaster and he did volunteer work for the Boy Scouts. I am guessing he was in his late 80’s at the time. He was very sharp and active in spite of his age.
I made arrangements for him to come talk to all of the kids and their families at our annual banquet as our guest speaker. Needless to say, he made a very lasting impression on everyone. He had a lot of pictures of the “Big E” in battle. You could definately tell he was a ships Captain! I believe he retired from the Navy right after WWII. He explained to the kids that when they left port with the Fleet they knew quite well that they may never come back. His talk was an experience none of us will ever forget!