USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

History of the USS John F. Kennedy Aircraft Carrier

The USS John F. Kennedy was ordered for the U.S. Navy on April 30, 1964. Her keel was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia on October 22, 1964. She was launched on May 27, 1967 and commissioned on September 7, 1968 under the command of Captain Earl Yates.

On her maiden voyage, USS John F. Kennedy sailed to the Mediterranean. She would make subsequent deployments to the Mediterranean throughout the 1970s because of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. The carrier won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award in 1974.

USS John F. Kennedy collided with the cruiser USS Belknap on November 22, 1975. Because of the serious damage she did to the smaller ship, she earned the nickname “Can Opener.” On September 14 of the following year, the destroyer USS Bordelon lost control and collided with the aircraft carrier during a nighttime underway replenishment north of Scotland. The destroyer sustained such damage that she was decommissioned several months later.

In 1978, the USS John F. Kennedy put in for a year-long overhaul. She won her second Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award in 1979.

On her ninth deployment in 1982, USS John F. Kennedy made her first visit to the Indian Ocean after transiting the Suez Canal. She was visited by the Somali head of state. The carrier was supposed to return to the Indian Ocean the following year, but she was diverted to Beirut, Lebanon after the October bombing that claimed the lives of 241 U.S. military personnel. When two U.S. aircraft were fired upon on December 3, she sent 10 of her aircraft on a bombing raid over Beirut in response. The carrier lost one of her aircraft; the pilot was killed and the bombardier was taken prisoner, released after negotiations by Reverend Jesse Jackson.

The USS John F. Kennedy headed into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia for a complex overhaul in 1984. Once her work was completed, she headed out in July 1986 to take part in the International Naval Review and the Rededication of the Statue of Liberty. The aircraft carrier was then deployed to the Mediterranean in August, conducting Freedom of Navigation exercises near Libya and operating off Lebanon due to terrorist activities and more U.S. citizens being taken hostage in Beirut. She returned home in March 1987.

USS John F. Kennedy returned to the area in August 1988. During this time, her task force was approached by two Libyan MiGs. The carrier launched two of her F-14 Tomcats to escort the MiGs away peacefully, but it ended up turning into a shooting match known as the Gulf of Sidra incident of 1989, where both Libyan aircraft were shot down. She returned home in time for Fleet Week in New York and Independence Day in Boston.

In August 1990, the USS John F. Kennedy had little to no warning when she was deployed to the Red Sea as part of Operation Desert Shield. She served as the flagship for the Red Sea Battle Force. By January 1991, she was also carrying out operations as part of Operation Desert Storm, launching 114 air strikes and almost 2,900 sorties against Iraq. When President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire in February, she returned home, arriving at Norfolk, Virginia on March 28. She then underwent a period of overhaul and refitting.

For her next deployment, USS John F. Kennedy headed back to the Mediterranean in preparation for possible intervention in Yugoslavia. When she returned home, she was ordered to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Pennsylvania for an extensive two-year overhaul. The aircraft carrier was then transferred to her new homeport, Mayport Naval Station in Florida.

The USS John F. Kennedy was deployed to the Atlantic in 1996, making a high profile visit to Dublin along the way. Her next deployment was an uneventful journey to the Mediterranean, arriving home in time to celebrate Fleet Week ’98.

After Hurricane Floyd ravaged the southeastern United States in September 1999, USS John F. Kennedy found herself performing a rescue mission of the tug Gulf Majesty. From there, she headed to the Middle East, where she made a port call at Al Aqabah and hosted the King of Jordan before joining her station for Operation Southern Watch. The carrier returned home to Mayport in March 2000. After undergoing maintenance, she took part in the International Naval Review and Sail Boston in Massachusetts.

When terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, USS John F. Kennedy took up Operation Noble Eagle duty, establishing air security over American cities along the mid-Atlantic coast, including Washington, D.C.

USS John F. Kennedy headed to the Middle East, dropping 31,000 tons of ordnance on al Qaeda and Taliban targets during the first six months of 2002. Two years later, she collided with a small Arab sailing boat, leaving no survivors on the vessel. Her commanding officer was relieved of duty.

Later, the USS John F. Kennedy was slated to be taken out of service, as she was the most expensive carrier in the fleet to maintain. She made a farewell tour before she was decommissioned at Mayport, Florida on March 23, 2007. Her fate has not been determined as of July 2009.

Asbestos-containing products were commonly used in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of the resistance of asbestos to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of this, many Navy veterans are at risk asbestos disease, including mesothelioma .

Sources include:

John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, "Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences," Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008) Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—USS John F. Kennedy