NewsMax Wires
Tuesday, Apr. 06, 2004

The 888-foot Oriskany is the first vessel in a new program designed to dispose of obsolete warships by sinking them as a cheaper alternative to the scrap yard. The ship also will serve as an underwater military memorial.

"It's going to make a lot of people happy. There is a lot of emotion associated with this ship," said Lee Puglia of the Oriskany Reunion Association, which campaigned hard for the site near Pensacola because of the ship's role as a pilot-training base.

Much of the emotion stems from a magazine fire that killed 44 crew members off the coast of Vietnam in 1966. Some of the ship's pilots were also lost in combat.

The Oriskany's former crew members include Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was shot down and taken prisoner in North Vietnam after taking off from the ship in 1967.

The sinking will make the Oriskany the largest vessel in the United States deliberately sunk to create a reef. But it is unlikely to hold that distinction for long. The military will soon begin reviewing places to sink 24 other ships, including three aircraft carriers, Navy spokeswoman Patricia Dolan said.

No date has been set for the sinking in 212 feet of water 22 miles southeast of Pensacola.

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Editor's note: