<figure id="attachment_5604" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5604" style="width: 635px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/08/USS_Saratoga_CV-60_underway_1985-635x502.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-5604" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/08/USS_Saratoga_CV-60_underway_1985-635x502.jpg" alt="USS Saratoga underway before being decommissioned. US Navy Photo" width="635" height="502" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-5604" class="wp-caption-text">USS Saratoga underway before being decommissioned. US Navy Photo</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong><em>From GCaptain</em></strong></p>
<p>08/24/2014 &#8212; The ex-<strong>USS Saratoga (CV 60</strong>) on Thursday set off on its final voyage from Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island to the port of Brownsville, Texas where the ship will be dismantled.</p>
<p>The ex-Saratoga departed under tow by the<strong> Signet Maritime tug, MV Signet Warhorse III,</strong> in front of thousands of spectators who lined the shores to get one last glimpse of the decorated ship.</p>
<p>The ship arrived in Newport Aug. 7, 1998 following 38 years of commissioned service with the <strong>U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1994.</strong> The Saratoga, the second carrier of the <strong><em>Forrestal class</em></strong>, completed 22 deployments during her career, including the service off the coast of Cuba during the <strong>Cuban Missile Crisis</strong> in 1962 and in the Persian Gulf in support of <strong>Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm</strong>.</p>
<p>“It’s sad that she could not be turned into a museum,” said Darryl Fern, 51, of Tatamy, Pennsylvania, who served as an electrician’s mate second class aboard the Saratoga from 1982-1984. “Like all the other older carriers, it’s time for her to meet her demise.”</p>
<p>The ex-Saratoga will now make the approximately 16 day voyage to Brownsville where the ship will be dismantled and recycled by ESCO Marine. <a href="http://gcaptain.com/ex-uss-saratoga-departs-rhode-island-on-final-voyage/" target="_blank"><strong><em>&#8230;..MORE</em></strong></a></p>
<figure id="attachment_5605" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5605" style="width: 635px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/08/USS-Saratoga-being-sent-to-scrap-yard.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-5605" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2014/08/USS-Saratoga-being-sent-to-scrap-yard.jpg" alt="NEWPORT, R.I. (Aug. 21, 2014) The former aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV 60) prepares for her final voyage from Newport Naval Station to a dismantling facility in Brownsville, Texas, the aircraft carrier’s final resting place. The ship arrived in Newport on Aug. 7, 1998, after spending four years in storage following her decommissioning in 1994. Saratoga was the second carrier of the Forrestal class and completed 22 deployments in her 38-year career. (U.S. Navy photo by Lindsay Church/Released)" width="635" height="372" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-5605" class="wp-caption-text">NEWPORT, R.I. (Aug. 21, 2014) The former aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV 60) prepares for her final voyage from Newport Naval Station to a dismantling facility in Brownsville, Texas, the aircraft carrier’s final resting place. The ship arrived in Newport on Aug. 7, 1998, after spending four years in storage following her decommissioning in 1994. Saratoga was the second carrier of the Forrestal class and completed 22 deployments in her 38-year career. (U.S. Navy photo by Lindsay Church/Released)</figcaption></figure>