PROPOSED INITIAL NEWS RELEASEThe USS LEXINGTON PAO will release the following memorandum forcorrespondents and media advisory on 20 September 1991, approximately six weeksbefore LEXINGTON’s decommissioning, and to CHINFO for possible release inWashington, D.C.PENSACOLA, Fla. — Thousands of guests and former crew members areexpected to attend the decommissioning ceremony for the aircraft carrier USSLEXINGTON (AVT 16), which will be decommissioned at 10 a.m. Friday,November 8, 1991 at Allegheny Pier at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola,Fla. The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, will be the principalspeaker. The ship’s commanding officer is Captain William H. Kennedy.LEXINGTON was built at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts,and began its commissioned service on February 17, 1943. The ship was namedafter its predecessor, USS LEXINGTON (CV 2), which was sunk on May 8,1942,at the Battle of Coral Sea.LEXINGTON is a World War II veteran. During its many wartime exploits, itdestroyed more than a thousand enemy planes, sunk 300,000 tons of Japaneseshipping and damaged another 600,000 tons. Despite repeated claims of itsdestruction, LEXINGTON continued to tight and was nicknamed “The Blue Ghost,”the ship that could not be sunk.LEXINGTON is the oldest aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy and the only activecarrier of the Essex class. Its engineering plant is powerful enough to provide utilityservices for a small city. The ship’s engines develop 150,000 horsepower feedingturbo and diesel generators producing 7,000 kilowatts of electrical power. The ship’sboilers supply steam for the main engines, turbo generators, steam catapults andmany other systems. Nearly 180,000 gallons of fresh and feed water for the boilersare produced daily by the evaporators. The size of LEXINGTON’s food servicefacilities, laundry, barber shop, snack bar and retail stores are equal to the facilitiesof several major hotels. In 1979, women joined the crew and worked side by sidewith men, from the flight deck to the engineering spaces.Because of seating restrictions at the decommissioning ceremony, attendance atthe ceremony is by invitation only. Media representatives wishing to attend theceremony should contact Lt. Maureen Ford at (904) 452-2401.Enclosure (6)AVI-11
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