“I don’t think I had one conversation with any Irish person during my first year as the Defense Attaché in the American Embassy in Dublin where the name of John Fitzgerald Kennedy did not come up,” says Colonel Bill Torpey. “Everyone, it seemed, had their own story about President Kennedy, and I began to think how wonderful it would be to bring his namesake, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, to the place where he is so loved and admired, Ireland.” This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Irish Naval Service, so the upcoming visit of the JFK from July 2-6 to celebrate the ties between the U.S. and Ireland is particularly timely.
Colonel Torpey knew that a visit by the 5,200 men and women on the JFK would cause a stir in Ireland. While he counted on Irish hospitality, he never envisioned the enormous reaction. When it was announced that 10,000 people could visit the ship, the demand for tickets was so great that the national lottery stepped in to provide a mechanism for the selection. More than 175,000 people sent in postcards requesting tickets. Of those, 2,500 names were drawn and awarded four tickets. “We didn’t want to break up families,” Colonel Torpey explains. In addition to the ship’s visit, air shows and concerts will be held throughout the country.
Colonel Torpey, whose Irish forebears settled in Jersey City, is particularly happy to be involved in this celebration. His father, Thomas Torpey, raised his family on a diet of Irish tunes and stories. Colonel Torpey traveled on the JFK when it came to New York for Fleet Week in May. “I was coming up the Hudson with the imposing buildings of Manhattan on one side and my own hometown of Jersey City on the other, and I felt so delighted that the dream of a visit by the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy had come true,” he said.
Fleet Week also gave Irish America the opportunity to tour the JFK and to learn from Admiral William J. Flanagan, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and from her Captain, Gerald L. Hoewing, something of her history and traditions. Admiral Flanagan, who received his Navy commission in 1967 and saw duty in Southeast Asia, was instrumental in arranging for the visit of the JFK to Dublin. “The richness of the Irish influence in our own country speaks volumes about the people who came to our shores. We are delighted to recognize that heritage through the upcoming port visit of the USS JFK to Dublin,” the Admiral told Irish America.
He was serving in the Merchant Marines when the young President Kennedy was assassinated and remembers when Congress, acting unanimously, voted that the new aircraft carrier under construction which was to be the U.S.S. United States, would be called the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. The ship would be a positive, living embodiment of the naval officer who once said: “Any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: I served in the United States Navy.” Jacqueline Kennedy embraced the project and involved her children. Perhaps she imagined their son, John, who had executed that sad and solemn salute, thrilling to flight ops when jets are catapulted off the flight deck by a crew of sailors dressed in a rainbow of colored shirts.
She made the JFK her project. She designed the Captain’s cabin to resemble that of a New England whaling ship and furnished it with memorabilia from the Oval Office. “I am creating a space where my husband would have felt comfortable,” she said. It is the only U.S. ship where oak paneling covers the walls and the floor is teak. Caroline Kennedy became the ship’s sponsor and on May 25, 1967, christened the ship in Newport News, Virginia. It entered naval service on September 7, 1968.
During her first 25 years, her crew of 5,200 sailors, marines and aviators were deployed throughout the world. “Big John” always excelled, earning awards and often deterring aggression just by being there. In August 1993, the Navy prepared to celebrate the ship’s 25th anniversary. An invitation was sent to Jacqueline Kennedy. No one knew that she was then suffering from the disease which would end her life. She sent her regrets in a letter, framed now in the Captain’s cabin she designed. “How I wish I could be there for the 25th anniversary of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. Sadly, circumstances will not permit it. I remember so vividly the day of her christening and I have followed in the news the career of that noble ship. I have the most profound admiration for her crews, past and present. I hope you express my feelings to them. No honor to President Kennedy would have meant more to him than having that great ship named after him. Please accept my wishes for a proud and moving reunion.” Less than a year later she died, and yet in many ways she remains present on the voyages of the JFK.
Now another “proud and moving reunion” will be celebrated as the JFK visits Ireland, reversing the journey the Kennedy and Fitzgerald families took when threatened by the Great Hunger. They crossed the treacherous North Atlantic, not in a mile-long behemoth, but in a fragile, wooden coffin ship. A replica of the figurehead from that very immigrant vessel now hangs in the Captain’s cabin on the JFK, a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy. The model represents the Greek Goddess Gorgona, who guards the harbor of Piraeus. When Jean Kennedy Smith, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, welcomes the aircraft carrier to Ireland, she will show once again how her family’s history and that of their home place remain intertwined.
“We’re all tremendously excited about the trip,” says Captain Hoewing. A naval aviator from Keokuk, Iowa, Captain Hoewing says most of his heritage is German, but he’s related to the Moores of Ireland through his grandfather. “I understand there are about 40 million Irish Americans. What a great influence and what a great friend Ireland is to us. So we are very glad to be able to represent this nation to one of our best friends. Our sailors can’t wait to show off our ship to as many people as we can get aboard.”
The JFK, over 1,051 feet long with horsepower of over 2,000,000, a speed of over 30 knots, and a crew of 5,200 which is served 15,600 meals a day, is an impressive sight.
“It’s like a football team,” says Captain Hoewing. “On the flight deck, for example, we have hundreds of sailors whose shirts designate their job. Our yellow shirts taxi the aircraft, the blue shirts maintain them, the white shirts ensure safety, and the brown shirts control the aircraft and make them ready for flight. If you have everybody in tune and playing together, then the symphony makes beautiful music. Right now the JFK is like a symphony.”
Greg Krawczyk is a crew member of the JFK. “I’ve been stationed on 13 different carriers, the Nimitz, the Theodore Roosevelt, the George Washington, the American, and now the JFK for five months. I’m in charge of all the preventive maintenance on board for all the equipment except the aircraft. I’m very excited about going to Ireland,” he says.
Crew member Jeffrey Joseph Pierce’s grandparents came from Dublin in the 1920s. “Everyone’s so excited about going to Ireland,” he says. “There’s so many people on this ship of Irish descent. Maybe we’ll all find relatives!”
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the July/August 1996 issue of Irish America. ⬥
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