The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk steamed into San Diego in the fall of 1961 with fanfare usually enjoyed by royalty, wrote the San Diego Union’s Lester Bell in a story announcing the warship’s arrival. The Kitty Hawk would call San Diego home for the next 37 years, before spending its last decade of operations in Japan. Airman Apprentice Andrew Dyer in an aviation electronics shop on board the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk during operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Gordon Shaw, a San Diego veteran of the ship, told the Union-Tribune he’s considering chartering a boat to escort the ship past San Diego. (James W. Crawley/The San Diego Union-Tribune)Stephen Sherman, another San Diego Kitty Hawk veteran, worked in the Crash and Salvage division on the ship’s flight deck, the first responders for aircraft fires.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 22, 2022 18:44 UTC