NEWPORT – A nonprofit group has launched a bid to bring the retired aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy to Rhode Island and turn it into a family attraction and recreation facility.
In February, the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command qualified the organization, the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame Inc., to pursue getting the retired carrier. One other group, from Portland, Me., also qualified.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
The Aviation Hall of Fame kicked off a fundraising campaign Monday with a goal of collecting $8 million to $10 million, said Frank Lennon, the organization’s president, who is a West Point graduate and former Green Beret.
Lennon had been president of a similar nonprofit group, the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation Inc., which tried to bring the USS Saratoga to the Port of Davisville at Quonset Point. But last fall the Navy decided not to donate the ship because of its deterioration, he said.
After the John F. Kennedy became available, Lennon decided to switch course and marshal his resources to bring the carrier named for the 35th president to Newport. Among Kennedy’s various connections with Rhode Island, perhaps the best known was his September 1953 wedding, which took place at St. Mary’s Church in Newport.
The John F. Kennedy, known affectionately as “Big John,” was the last conventional aircraft carrier built by the Navy. It was launched on Sept. 7, 1968, christened by the late president’s daughter Caroline.
Although the carrier was officially decommissioned on Sept. 1, 2007, after 18 official deployments in almost four decades of service, it is still in “mobilization readiness,” Lennon said.
The project has already garnered support from public officials including Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kenendy, D-R.I., the late president’s nephew.
“Locating this namesake legacy in Rhode Island would be most appropriate, given President Kennedy’s close association with the state, including his wartime training at Melville, his marriage in Newport, and the summer White House years at Hammersmith Farm,” Carcieri said.
“I have long been a supporter of bringing a retired aircraft carrier to Rhode Island for the job creation and tourism opportunities it presents,” Kennedy said. “The fact that this particular vessel is named for President Kennedy brings even greater significance to this project.”
Lennon said the next step in the process will be for his group to submit financial and environmental plans, including how the ship would be made available to the public. Those are due in January 2011.
About 80 percent of the work that had been done in preparation for acquiring the Saratoga can be used for the John F. Kennedy project, Lennon said. Historic assets from the Saratoga would be displayed aboard the John F. Kennedy, as well.
“Most of the supporters of the Saratoga effort are behind the JFK effort,” Lennon said. “They believe in our vision, to create a family attraction with an aircraft carrier. They are not concerned with the name on the back of the ship.”
Additional information is available at ussjfkri.org.
