Veterans, Army-Navy Team Lead USS Intrepid Home
By JoAnne Castagna | Online Only | Nov. 19, 2008
The World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid returned last month to Manhattan's Pier 86, where it has rested since 1982 as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
The aircraft carrier recently completed a two-year bow-to-stern renovation in New Jersey and Staten Island. Even its pier in Manhattan was rebuilt for the Nov. 8 reopening of the museum.
On a gusty, cool day last month, Felix Novelli and 230 other Intrepid crew Veterans stood on the ship's flight deck while she was towed home, remembering old battles.
"The sky blackened with Kamikaze. They wanted to sink a carrier, and they kept on coming left and right, 200 to 300 each day," says Novelli, 83, who was 19-year-old plane captain on the ship during World War II. "Kids need to know what happened. Ninety-nine percent don't know what went on."
During the $150 million project, workers revamped the anchor-chain room, living quarters, machine shop, and the museum's collection of aircraft. Portions of the ship that were renovated were areas never seen before by the public, including the ship's lower decks.
Managed by the Intrepid Foundation, a charitable organization started by Zachary Fisher, the museum receives more than 750,000 visitors each year.
The 912-foot-long ship saw action in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Before the Vietnam War, Senator John McCain served on the Intrepid. "The Ghost Ship," as she was known by the enemy, also tracked Soviet submarines during the Cold War, and served as NASA's prime recovery vessel for Mercury and Gemini capsules in the 1960s.
On Oct. 2, the aircraft carrier made its way back home, led by the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps harbor workboats and other tugboats. After leaving Staten Island, the carrier made a leisurely 10-mile voyage across New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero.
To learn more about the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, visit www.intrepidmuseum.org
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Comments
Submitted by Anonymous at: December 20, 2008
200 to 300 kamikaze a day? How did this ship survive?