Hub could be home for JFK carrier

Hub floated as possible home for JFK warship
By Edward Mason | Thursday, November 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

A one-of-a-kind warship named in honor of President John F. Kennedy is suddenly available - for free - if Boston wants it.

The U.S. Navy is looking to donate the decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, under the condition it be used only as a museum or memorial.

City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy said he plans to float the idea of shipping the JFK up to Boston before the City Council, saying the Hub would be a fitting final resting place for the carrier.

“If it belongs anywhere, it belongs at the birthplace of John F. Kennedy,” Murphy said.

Murphy has championed returning the JFK here before, when the ship visited Boston in March 2007 shortly before it was decommissioned and mothballed in Philadelphia.

The idea also appealed to U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who told the Herald in 2007 the JFK would make a superb bookend to another historic ship moored here, Old Ironsides, and that he’d planned to lobby then-U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to keep the vessel here.

Calls to a Kerry spokeswoman were not returned, while Paul G. Kirk, the Kennedy confidant granted an interim appointment to the late senator’s seat, could not be reached.

So far, no one has expressed interest in the legendary warship, which saw 18 deployments and 30 commanding officers over 38 years of service.

“There have been no queries or interest yet,” said a U.S. Navy spokeswoman, Lt. Lara Bollinger. Ensuring the JFK’s final port of call is Boston won’t be easy, Murphy cautioned.

There’s no taxpayer money available - it would require Boston businesses to step up.

There is also no clear place to moor it. Back in 2007, attention turned to the water by the Kennedy Museum as a natural location, but Murphy said it would “cost a fortune“ to dredge the harbor’s bottom to make room.

Also, the Navy might not pick Boston, Murphy said. Warm-weather ports like Miami with year-long tourist seasons could have an edge, he said.

“We have a few challenges,” Murphy said.

Still, he said, “It has a place in history here more than anywhere else.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1214666