Dismantling a legend

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Dismantling a legend

The largest naval vessel ever scheduled for dismantling in the U.S. arrived at the Port of Brownsville in February. The ex-USS Forrestal, the Navy’s first super aircraft carrier at 1,067 feet in length and 60,000 tons, was towed from Philadelphia to the All Star Metals dock on the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Two sailors from the Forrestal's first cruise are part of a select fellowship.
Two sailors from the Forrestal’s first cruise are part of a select fellowship.

Nik Shah, president of All Star Metals, said the 18-month process of dismantling and recycling the towering flat top is another stage in the continuing growth of the business he started with family members in 2002. “Volume-wise, we will be the largest ship recycler in the country.”

The days are long gone when ASM had only nine employees and Shah himself operated a crane. Through expansions and a merger in 2012 with SMS, a privately held multi-state recycling leader, ASM has become recognized as a world class dismantling and recycling facility and a licensed environmental remediation contractor.  ASM, which dismantles several ships simultaneously, has allocated 200 employees to the Forrestal project and will probably hire additional workers.

Seeing a historic aircraft carrier through her last days put the spotlight on ASM. Shah received countless letters and emails from sailors who had served on the Forrestal. “They taught me that the vessel was more than just a ship made of metal.”   Moved, Shah decided to stage two events for former crew members, their families and the public. With a 60-by-30-foot American flag waving on high and the Forrestal looming in the background at the Port of Brownville, people arrived to honor the ship and heard a bagpiper playing “Taps” and “Amazing Grace.”

Kenneth Killmeyer, Forrestal association historian, reminded his audience at All Star Metals' dock of the proud history of the first super carrier.
Kenneth Killmeyer, Forrestal association historian, reminded his audience at All Star Metals’ dock of the proud history of the first super carrier.

“People have told me they appreciate the opportunity to say good bye,” said Shah, who has heard countless stories of the vessel and her crew.  “I think it is important to capture that data now.  The best way to keep history alive is put your thoughts on paper.  We can teach our children.”

Shah and ASM are taking special care with the Forrestal, he has told sailors. “We will perform the task with all respect and honor.  It will be part of our history again,” the metal used perhaps to make more ships.

Jack Lawler was one of the 5,000 sailors on board the Forrestal (CVA-59) during her  shakedown cruise in 1955, and therefore a plank owner, a naval tradition that entitles sailors to a part of the ship at the end of its days.  Lawler was among the hundreds who journeyed to south Texas to say goodbye to a piece of their past.  Looking up the massive but chewed-up looking ship at ASM’s dock, he said, “It hurts to see her like this. She was a beautiful lady. ” The first carrier specifically built for jets, the ship was nicknamed The FID for First in Defense.  During its 38 years of catapulting and retrieving aircraft, the Forrestal recorded 376,500 arrested landings, including the largest plane ever landed on a carrier.  It is remembered also for the tragic shipboard fire in the Gulf of Tonkin which took 134 lives and injured 161 in 1967.

To continue reading this story by Eileen Mattei, visit the “Current & Past Issues” link on this website or pick up a copy of the April 2014 edition of Valley Business Report.  

The ex-USS Forrestal dwarfs tugs in the Brazos Santiago Pass.
The ex-USS Forrestal dwarfs tugs in the Brazos Santiago Pass.

Freelance writer Eileen Mattei was the editor of Valley Business Report for over 6 years. Her articles have appeared in Texas Highways, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Coop Power magazines as well as On Point: The Journal of Army History. The Harlingen resident is the author of five books: Valley Places, Valley Faces; At the Crossroads: Harlingen’s First 100 Years; and Leading the Way: McAllen’s First 100 Years, For the Good of My Patients: The History of Medicine in the Rio Grande Valley, and Quinta Mazatlán: A Visual Journey.

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