🚢 CV 64 USS Constellation
by johnataylor · 8 things on Twos
- USS Constellation (CV-64) was a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier and the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the "new constellation of stars" on the flag of the United States. One of the fastest ships in the Navy, as proven by her victory during a battlegroup race held in 1985, she was nicknamed "Connie" by her crew and officially as "America's Flagship".
- Resources on CV 64 USS Constellation
- A Short History of the USS Constellation (CV 64)
- President Ronald Reagan: Remarks on Board the U.S.S. Constellation
August 20, 1981 - Off the Coast of California
- USS Constellation
- CV-64 - USS Constellation
Commissioned: October 27, 1961 (four months before I was born)
Decommissioned: August 6, 2003 (I was 41 years old)
Fate: scrapped / scrapping completed in Brownsville, TX May 2017
My home in the early 1980s
- I seldom speak of my military service, it wasn't the best time in my life, but on this Veteran's Day (2024), it has been impossible to not look back and reflect.
The memories have faded. It seems like a lifetime ago, and one day I too will be "decommissioned," but I remember the dreams of the young man, just out of high school who flew onto this ship for the first time via helicopter, while the ship was out doing drills in the Pacific Ocean.
As I look back on that time, if I could speak to the young man I once was, I would happily say:
"The challenges, buddy, were overcome. The life you dreamed about didn't happen, but the life you were chosen to live is so much better than you could ever have envisioned. It has been filled with adventure, richness and love.
Sure, there have been disappointments, but the Divine appointments have given you much more of a life than you ever expected. Don't despair, your future is bright."
The young man that boarded this Kitty Hawk Class Aircraft Carrier was so unsure of what the future would hold. The man today, looking back on his past, is forever grateful for the days that unfolded.