Navy Retires Carrier Saratoga After 38 Years

The aircraft carrier Saratoga was decommissioned Saturday after 38 years of duty that included glory and tragedy.

As long as the Empire State Building is tall, the aircraft carrier saw duty in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War, the Cuban coast during the 1962 missile crisis and the Persian Gulf War.

“At times when I stand on the pier and look up at this grand old lady there is an almost lifelike sense about her,” said Capt. William H. Kennedy, the Saratoga’s final commanding officer. “Sort of a proud warrior who has come home to retire, knowing full well, ‘We did it. Mission accomplished.’ ”

The ship was decked out in a new coat of gray paint and red, white and blue bunting for the ceremony, which was attended by about 5,000 people.

The Saratoga was the second carrier built after World War II and the sixth U.S. vessel to bear the name. More than 60,000 men served on board, said Adm. Jerry Boorda, chief of naval operations.

It launched the first strikes of the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. Saratoga pilots flew 2,626 long-distance combat sorties, dropping more than 4.3 million pounds of explosives and shooting down the first two enemy MIG-21 planes of the war.

In 1985, when terrorists escaped after hijacking the Achille Lauro cruise ship and killing an American, jets from the Saratoga forced their plane to land in Italy, where the hijackers were captured.

But the ship also knew its share of tragedy.

In December, 1990, 21 crew members were killed when a ferryboat sank while returning them from liberty in Haifa, Israel.

And two years ago, crew members mistakenly fired into a Turkish ship during NATO exercises, killing five Turkish sailors.