The End of an Era: USS Enterprise

Navy sailors on board USS Enterprise (CVN 65) walked off “Big E” for the last time, during the Decommissioning Ceremony at Newport News Shipbuilding on Feb. 3, marking the end of an era.

More than 400 guests including shipbuilders, Navy personnel and family witnessed the historic event held in the carrier’s hangar bay. For many shipbuilders who helped build Enterprise, it was an emotional and bittersweet sendoff as they said goodbye to a legend.

Designer Luther Peacock remembered traveling across the James River Bridge to start his shipyard career in 1958 and, like other shipbuilders at the ceremony, had mixed emotions.

As he watched Commanding Officer Captain Todd Beltz give final commands, Peacock remembered standing in the same hangar bay more than 50 years ago.

“I was standing right here, helping put this thing together,” he said. “I never thought I’d get to be part of something this great. It’s probably the best ship we’ve ever built. These guys are leaving behind something that is a legacy around the world.”

Construction Supervisor Jennifer Guthinger supported Enterprise during an Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability in 2010 and was part of the team leading the inactivation at NNS.

“I thought it was a very special ceremony,” said Guthinger. “A lot of people put their hearts and souls into this ship. There are no words to describe her. You have to be part of it—in the shipyards building them or on the water sailing them.”

L.D. Joyner, production planner and scheduler, started his career in the shipyard’s Mold Loft in 1957. He and several other shipbuilders fabricated molds for the steel used in the original construction of Enterprise. Fifty-nine years later, he said that he felt honored to be part of “Big E’s” legacy.

“Sure, there will be another Enterprise,” he said. “But there will never be another CVN 65. It was just an awesome ship. You feel proud to be involved in something that made history and protected the United States.”

While there may never be another CVN 65, “Big E” will live on through the next generation Enterprise (CVN 80).

“We’ve taken some of her steel and will use it in the keel of our nation’s newest Enterprise (CVN 80),” said NNS President Matt Mulherin. “And just like this ship, CVN 80 will hold a special place in the hearts of her shipbuilders. We are continuing the magic, the majesty and the legend that is and will always be USS Enterprise.”

*This article was originally published on the NNS to Go mobile app.