Letter of Support Sent Vincennes Crew
A nearly 1,000-foot-long letter in support of sailors aboard the cruiser Vincennes--the Navy warship that shot down an Iranian jetliner carrying 290 people--was sent Monday to the vessel in the Persian Gulf. The letter was signed by about 10,000 San Diego County residents.
Copies of the letter, drafted by Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego), had been circulated in the county since Friday. The letter left for the Persian Gulf by jet about 4:30 p.m. It offers “strong support to you as you strive to do your duty to God and country in troubled waters far from home.”
Lowery originally planned the letter to reach 567 feet, the length of the Vincennes. However, an unexpected increase in the number of signatures forced Lowery’s aides to lengthen it.
The Vincennes shot down an Iran Air passenger jet July 3 after the Airbus failed to respond to demands by the cruiser to identify itself, the U.S. government has said. All 290 passengers and crew members aboard were killed.
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