Lost Letter of Support to Vincennes’ Crew Found

A missing 50-pound letter bearing 10,000 signatures and expressing support for the captain and crew of the U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser Vincennes was found during the weekend and will be delivered to the warship today.

U.S. officials said Saturday that they recovered a letter that was supposed to have been delivered to the warship two days earlier.

On July 3, the Vincennes downed an Iranian jetliner, killing all 290 people aboard.

The signature campaign was organized last weekend in San Diego, the Vincennes’ home port, by California Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego).

The letter, which is 1,000 feet long, had been mishandled on its way to the Persian Gulf through an express delivery service, said Karl Higgins, a Lowery aide.

Higgins said in a telephone interview from San Diego that the letter was found in a London cargo terminal Saturday and was shipped to Bahrain.

“The letter was originally going to be 570 feet long, about the length of the Vincennes. But the effort was so popular that the letter became 1,000 feet long.”

He said the letter was placed on a British Airways plane bound to Bahrain from London.

The message reads:

“To Capt. Will Rogers III and the crew of the USS Vincennes, the citizens of our home port San Diego show our strong support to you as you strive to do your duty to God and country in troubled waters far from home. You have our best wishes during a difficult time and we pray for fair winds and following seas in the future. Good luck and Godspeed.”