USS CABOT TRIBUTE AN OPEN LETTER On the 16th of March, 1942 her keel was laid as CL79. It was
a time that only those who were there can truly understand, but we know even today that our Country was in harms
way. It was men like you, in ships like her, who went forward to protect what we still hold so precious. Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. An aircraft carrier is a noble thing. It lacks almost everything
that seems to denote nobility, yet deep nobility is there. A carrier has no poise. It is top-heavy and lopsided.
It has the lines of a well fed cow. It doesn't cut through the water like a cruiser, knifing romatically along.
It doesn't dance and cavort like a destroyer. It just plows. You feel it should be carrying a hod. Yet a carrier
is a ferocious thing, and out of it's heritage of action has grown it's nobility, I believe that every Navy in
the world has it's No. 1 priority the destruction of enemy carriers. That's a precarious honor, but it's a proud
one. Ernie Pyle (written aboard the USS Cabot 1945)
" Any man who may be asked in this century
what he did to make his life worthwhile,
SOURCES
National Historic Landmark
Presidential Citation
for Extraordinary Heroism in Action
Nine Battle Stars
We stand in gratitude, respect and admiration to you. Two Flags, two Countries, nine battle stars and a Presidential
citation. The USS Cabot / Dedalo represents the best of a society that could in the blink of an eye, apply it's
ingenuity and resourcefulness to create the very instrument needed to defend that way of life.
As a Vietnam combat veteran, I understand the sacrifice that duty demands. We view her by a different set of values
and standards, for she is to us as she is to you, more than just a ship. It is with this understanding that we
dedicate our effort to preserve her for the sailors and airman that paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend our Nation
We have presented what we feel is a fair and equitable offer and should that offer be approved by all the appropriate
parties, we will bring the USS Cabot / Dedalo to the waters of South Florida.
We make no grand commitments, no wild promises and ask for nothing in return but your prayers. We simply state;
we will conduct ourselves and our efforts with the respect and the dignity that her very existence demands, for
we will do right by her or we will do nothing at all.
Respectfully,
Stephen O'Neal
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
June, 1997
"The Ultimate Sacrifice"
252 Japanese Aircraft Destroyed in Aerial Combat
82 Men and Officers Killed in Action
35 Men Killed by Kamikaze Attacks on 11/25/44
I think I can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction:
I served in the United States Navy."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy.......
Ernie Pyle Quote:
The History of the USS Cabot
J. Ed Hudson
Photos:
Official U.S. Navy
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USS CABOT MUSEUM / ECOSAT
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