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The ex-USS Saratoga (CV 60) 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.
The ex-Saratoga departed under tow by the Signet Maritime tug, MV Signet Warhorse III, in front of thousands of spectactors who lined the shores to get one last glimpse of the decorated ship.
The ship arrived in Newport Aug. 7, 1998 following 38 years of commissioned service with the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1994.
One of these storytellers is Robert Thomas. Recently, the 73-year-old Salisbury native came by the recruiting office with his dress blues jacket from when he served many years ago. He was not there to show them off, but he had a favor to ask of the Marines. It was a favor that turned out to be a story 50 years in the making.
Thomas was born and raised in the rural farmlands of Cambridge, Md. While he was a senior in high school, he decided to join the Marines, much to the chagrin of his mother.
“I knew at the time when I graduated I did not want anything to do with college,” said Thomas. “I was not ready for it and would probably have been a disaster if I had gone to college.”