thedrifter
11-09-08, 06:26 AM
Intrepid has rainy grand reopening
BY MARC BEJA | Special to Newsday
7:50 PM EST, November 8, 2008
Felix Novelli stood outside the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Sunday, shaking hands with current and former Marines, giving advice to teenagers and telling stories of when he served aboard the aircraft carrier as an aviation machinist mechanic from 1944 to 1946.
Novelli, 83, of Southampton, talked about the dangerous missions and enemy attacks, as well as the card games and the joking around with crew members.
"When you come back to take a look at it, the tears flow, because you were involved in something big, something important," Novelli said. "But I felt proud. I still feel proud."
Novelli was one of the several hundred people who braved the rain Saturday to visit the aircraft carrier's grand reopening.
The Intrepid, which was active in World War II, in Vietnam during three tours, and several NASA recovery missions, returned last month to Pier 86 from Staten Island after a nearly two-year refurbishment that cost about $115 million. Navy veterans who had served aboard the ship were on hand with their families, scores of Navy cadets and Marines from the USS Bataan, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship docked beside the Intrepid.
"It's a coming-together of the generations -- honoring our veterans while looking our future," the museum's president Bill White said. "It's been a long time, but it's finally here." And don't worry -- this ship has survived five kamikaze attacks, I think it can survive a little rain."
The new renovations inside the ship opened several areas that were never before accessible, including a fo'c'sle area where the anchor chains are stored in the bow and the officers' quarters.
From the deck of the ship, Chaminade High School's Gold Band could be heard performing several John Philip Sousa marches and patriotic songs on the Manhattan pier, which lies off the Hudson River.
Marino DiLeo of Bay Shore, stood with his wife beside a helicopter similar to one he worked on during his service aboard the Intrepid in 1956, explaining how they were used.
"I come back every third week," said DiLeo, 72. "It brings back Navy days."
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush will attend Veterans Day ceremonies and be presented with the 2008 Intrepid Freedom Award aboard the carrier.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-intrepidhome-pg,0,4356858.photogallery
Ellie
BY MARC BEJA | Special to Newsday
7:50 PM EST, November 8, 2008
Felix Novelli stood outside the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Sunday, shaking hands with current and former Marines, giving advice to teenagers and telling stories of when he served aboard the aircraft carrier as an aviation machinist mechanic from 1944 to 1946.
Novelli, 83, of Southampton, talked about the dangerous missions and enemy attacks, as well as the card games and the joking around with crew members.
"When you come back to take a look at it, the tears flow, because you were involved in something big, something important," Novelli said. "But I felt proud. I still feel proud."
Novelli was one of the several hundred people who braved the rain Saturday to visit the aircraft carrier's grand reopening.
The Intrepid, which was active in World War II, in Vietnam during three tours, and several NASA recovery missions, returned last month to Pier 86 from Staten Island after a nearly two-year refurbishment that cost about $115 million. Navy veterans who had served aboard the ship were on hand with their families, scores of Navy cadets and Marines from the USS Bataan, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship docked beside the Intrepid.
"It's a coming-together of the generations -- honoring our veterans while looking our future," the museum's president Bill White said. "It's been a long time, but it's finally here." And don't worry -- this ship has survived five kamikaze attacks, I think it can survive a little rain."
The new renovations inside the ship opened several areas that were never before accessible, including a fo'c'sle area where the anchor chains are stored in the bow and the officers' quarters.
From the deck of the ship, Chaminade High School's Gold Band could be heard performing several John Philip Sousa marches and patriotic songs on the Manhattan pier, which lies off the Hudson River.
Marino DiLeo of Bay Shore, stood with his wife beside a helicopter similar to one he worked on during his service aboard the Intrepid in 1956, explaining how they were used.
"I come back every third week," said DiLeo, 72. "It brings back Navy days."
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush will attend Veterans Day ceremonies and be presented with the 2008 Intrepid Freedom Award aboard the carrier.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-intrepidhome-pg,0,4356858.photogallery
Ellie