Final voyage
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy [JFK] CV-67 passed by South Padre Island on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, on the last leg of its final voyage. The historic Navy vessel is slated to be dismantled at the Port of Brownsville.
(Wright Choice Photography/Andrea Wright)
By ARABELLA SERRATA
Staff Writer
On Sunday, Feb. 2 The Navy ship John F. Kennedy [JFK] CV-67 passed by South Padre Island on its final trip to the Port of Brownsville for scrapping.
According to a Naval Sea Systems Command press release, the ship was commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968. It was the first ship named after Kennedy and was “the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier
built by the U.S. Navy.” According to the official Navy website, the carrier was initially meant to be an addition to the Kitty Hawk class carrier. The Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was another carrier that passed South
Padre Island when it was sent to the Port of Brownsville for scrapping.
During its lifetime, the ship conducted 18 deployments to the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean and Adriatic seas. The release specifies that this was during a noticeably tense period between the
Middle East and North Africa while under surveillance by Soviet Ships.
After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the release states the vessel and its group were used to establish air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard to try and calm the masses. In 2002, the ship was deployed in support of Operations Anaconda and Enduring Freedom and later, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.
The JFK was a training platform for about two years after, eventually making a final port visit to Boston, Massachusetts in 2007. It was later removed from service on Aug. 1, 2007.
“Ex-John F. Kennedy will always be remembered as a symbol of enduring freedom and a beacon of hope and peace during difficult times in our nation,” stated Rear Admiral Bill Greene, Director of Surface Ship
Maintenance, Modernization, and Sustainment. “The countless members of the ship’s crew and all who sustained it during its lifecycle should be proud of the exceptional work that kept the ship sailing and supporting our fleet for many years. Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
Many people in the Laguna Madre area eagerly awaited JFK’s passing by South Padre Island, using websites to keep track of its location. In the days since its voyage, many people have left words of remembrance
and their pictures from the event on social media.
“The arrival of every decommissioned Naval vessel marks the end of an era, but also a new chapter in innovation, industry and legacy,” stated Port of Brownsville officials.