November 8, 2008: Intrepid back at her mooring in New York following repairs and drydocking.

 

Opening of the rededication ceremony.

 

Admiral Williams speaking at the ceremony.

 

The flight deck of Intrepid.

 

The flight deck of Intrepid.

 

The island at night.

(All photos courtesy of Thomas L. Epps USN)
© 2008 Thomas L. Epps USN all rights reserved

 

On November 8th I traveled to New York City to attend a special event; the re-opening of the USS 'Intrepid' museum at Pier 86 on the West Side of the Big Apple. These are a few of the photos taken that rainy day of Intrepid, fresh from a two-year refit in Brooklyn. USS Bataan LHD-5 journeyed up from Norfolk to help with the
ceremonies and to celebrate Veteran's Day in the City.

It's difficult to express my feelings about this great ship and the obvious love and care that went into restoring her for public viewing; I spent the entire day onboard, exploring the hangar deck, flight deck, bridge, flag bridge and Combat Information Center (CIC), and more importantly I was able to meet and talk with dozens of veterans; men who sailed her through WWII, Korea, Vietnam and her spaceflight support operations of the 1960s. (I even chatted for a while with one of the few remaining Survivors of Pearl Harbor)

I think the high point of my day was a discussion on the flight deck with three elderly gentlemen who experienced firsthand the terror of Kamikaze attacks in the closing months of the Second World War, and the realization that all that these men and hundreds of thousands of others, through the years of Intrepid and her sister ships, pioneered the technologies and techniques of fire fighting, damage control, and survival at sea that, today, help keep me and my shipmates safe and healthy as we carry on their tradition, and that we will pass on to the next generations of seafarers. It's heady stuff, to realize one's place in the continuum of naval and American history, as part of an ongoing story.a tale of men who go down to the sea in ships.

As a retired Navyman, and as a Merchant Mariner, I can't think of a finer legacy. Please enjoy these photos, and please spare a moment to think of the fifty thousand Sailors who lived, dreamed, fought, died and survived in the course of her 30 year career.

Regards,
Tom Epps
USNS Arctic