John F Kennedy (CVA 67) - Naval Cruise Book

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C VA 61 with the arrival of the kennedy family the crowd hushed and an atmosphere of poignancy fell over the gathering there on the platform were the kennedy family, former secretary of defense robert mcnamara, admiral thomas moorer, chief of naval operations, and the spectators began to realize that history was about to pass before their eyes. after the invocation, senator edward kennedy rose and spoke of his late brother's love for the sea and his hopes that uss john f. kennedy would be, as his brother was, a champion of peace and ambassador of good will. and none that day will ever forget the emotionally charged speech of the late president s close friend robert mcnamara, I

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,.n.!J1.b1 x .3 -a NJ 4 -- 'T TJ 1., . 4 . my ' Q if s r s-01 .LQ ---- Cla A-6'l . . . god bless you after the navy had accepted the ship and the colors were set capt. yates assumed command and cdr. smith set the first watch. uss john f. kennedy was officially a member of the fleet as a token of appreciation from the crew caroline kennedy was presented the traditional gift from crewmen to sponsor. . . in this case a specially crafted silver dresser set. she thanked the crew for the gift and, somewhat timidly, said . . . . . .god bless you... young john kennedy also received the pen from admiral moorer which was used to sign the articles placing the ship in commission. following the ceremony guests and principals made their way to the flight where caroline cut the commissioning cake and helped distribute it to the guests. then thousands tilted their heads toward the sky and shaded their eyes as the navy's flight demonstration team, the blue dove out of the sun in a v-shaped formation like a gigantic blue boomerang in a salute to the navy's newest aircraft carrier, then split like a rocket exploding and disappeared over the horizon deck angels