USS INDEPENDENCE

Named for the right of self-government, the fifth USS Independence was commissioned on Jan. 10, 1959. In 1960, she saw her first cruise to the Mediterranean. The year 1962 saw the ship helping with the Berlin crisis during that summer. The fall saw her go to the Caribbean to help with quarantining Cuba during the Russian missile crisis.

The ship continued cruising various Atlantic runs through 1965. In that year, she went on a run to the South China Sea. While there, her aircrews conducted thousands of sorties against the North Vietnamese troops. Upon her return to the east coast, the ship resumed her normal operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The 1970’s saw USS Independence carrying out more operations in the Mediterranean. She was the site of the first female US pilot to gain carrier qualification in 1979. In 1980, the ship was waiting when the American hostages were freed from Iran. During the next few years, she saw action in Lebanon and Grenada.

In 1990, the ship became the first carrier to enter the Persian Gulf in over 15 years. She helped with air support during and after Operation Desert Storm. The rest of the 1990’s saw her flying missions over southern Iraq and making visits to various Pacific ports. She was decommissioned on Sept. 30, 1998.