Former USS JFK towed down Delaware River as aircraft carrier begins journey out of Philadelphia

Thursday, January 16, 2025
Former USS JFK towed down Delaware River as aircraft carrier begins journey out of Philadelphia
The decommissioned aircraft carrier, formerly named after President John F. Kennedy, began its departure from the Philadelphia Navy Yard on Thursday.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The decommissioned aircraft carrier, formerly named after President John F. Kennedy, has begun its journey as it heads south from the Philadelphia Navy Yard to the scrapyard.

Towboats began towing the vessel down the Delaware River around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday to begin the journey to Brownsville, Texas.

The large ship will be towed through the Delaware River, through the Delaware Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean. Once it reaches the Gulf Coast of Texas, crews will dismantle the Kennedy.

The move to Texas was pushed back after a delay on Wednesday.

Ray Staley and Michael Marchesse served onboard from 1971 to 1973 - just two kids from Norristown.

"We met in the ship's library and we found out we had mutual friends, and lived five miles from each other. We've been friends for 52 years," said Michael Marchesse of Norristown.

In Chester, the veterans were joined by dozens of other onlookers who were watching as the aircraft carrier passed by.

Some of them were reminded of their time in the Navy.

"No regrets at all, a wonderful experience. Lucked out," said Ray Staley of Royersford.

The aircraft carrier conducted US Navy missions worldwide during its 39 years of service.

The ship conducted 18 deployments including to the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean and Adriatic seas, during a period of escalating tension in the Middle East and North Africa, often while under the surveillance of Soviet ships.

It was the Navy's final conventionally-powered aircraft carrier before switching to nuclear power.

"Big John," as it was affectionately nicknamed, was decommissioned in 2007 and has been in Philadelphia ever since.

A new aircraft carrier named after JFK will enter service later this year.

Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.