The sun rises on the Ex-USS John F. Kennedy one final time in the city of Philadelphia before its Jan. 16 departure for the scrapyard in Brownsville, Texas. For more than a decade and a half, the last remaining conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Ex-USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), has been moored in the City of Brotherly Love—a tangible symbol of America’s military strength in the city where both the Navy and Marine Corps were founded 250 years ago. US Navy photo.

The ex-John F. Kennedy (CV 67) began her final journey on January 16 after a one-day weather delay, departed under tow from the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, PA for transit to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping.

Commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968, CV 67 was the first Navy ship named John F. Kennedy. The vessel conducted multiple tours in the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean, and Adriatic seas, during a period of escalating tension in the Middle East and North Africa, often while under the surveillance of Soviet ships.

In the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, John F. Kennedy and her battle group established air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, “to help calm a fearful and shocked nation,” in support of Operation Noble Eagle. In February 2002, the ship deployed in support of Operations Anaconda and Enduring Freedom, followed by support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in July 2004. The ship was decommissioned in 2007 after 39 years of service.

“Ex-John F. Kennedy will always be remembered as a symbol of enduring freedom and a beacon of hope and peace during difficult times in our nation,” said Rear Adm. Bill Greene, Director of surface Ship Maintenance, Modernization and Sustainment. “The countless members of the ship’s crew and all who sustained it during its lifecycle should be proud of the exceptional work that kept the ship sailing and supporting our fleet for many years. Fair Winds and Following Seas.”

The nation’s aircraft carriers and embarked carrier air wings project power, sustain sea control, bolster deterrence, provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and maintain the nation’s enduring commitments all over the world.