The Navy on Friday officially decommissioned the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The decommissioning ceremony took place at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, where original and current crew members and shipbuilders who first constructed the Enterprise were present, WTKR News 3 reported.
The carrier had many nicknames, one of the most well-known being "Big E."
The Enterprise, the first ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was commissioned on November 25, 1961. She succeeded a long list of ships to bear the name, including her immediate predecessor, the USS Enterprise (CV-6), which was one the most decorated ships of World War II. The CVN-65 served in almost every major conflict that took place while she was active, with deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean and the Middle East.
The Enterprise was deployed during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The CVN-65 will be succeeded by another Enterprise, the CVN-80, a member of the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers.
VIDEO: the @USNavy Hymn plays during the Final Watch on now decommissioned #USSEnterprise https://t.co/yQCIDCEIIk @WTKR3 @HIIndustries pic.twitter.com/gLuNgVJ3h6
— Todd Corillo (@ToddCorillo) February 3, 2017
