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Midway Moves into Broadway Pier

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040115-04

Release Date: 1/15/2004 1:53:00 PM

By Journalist 1st Class Chris Halsey, Mobile Public Affairs Team Detachment 119

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The decommissioned aircraft carrier Midway has found a new home and a new mission. Port of San Diego tugboats pushed the 74,000-ton aircraft carrier across San Diego Bay Jan. 10, and parked it at the Broadway Pier near Downtown San Diego to serve as a naval museum. Commissioned on September 10, 1945 as USS Midway (CVB-41), the ship was decommissioned in 1992.

According to Pete Clayton, chief engineer for the USS Midway Museum, the 1,000-foot-long aircraft carrier steamed down the California coast after being mothballed in Bremerton, Wash., to receive recently restored aircraft at Naval Base Coronado.

In its 47-year career, the famed aircraft carrier saw action in numerous conflicts including World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. Midway also traveled through every ocean on the planet and was once considered the largest warship in the world. Now, the famed carrier will serve thousands of naval enthusiasts as a floating museum and event facility.

Ryan Radici, manager of the Fish Market restaurant, watched the Port of San Diego tugboats push the historic aircraft carrier by his terrace.

"It's very exciting having the Midway over here," the 27-year-old, Clairemont, Calif., native said. "She's now one more reason to come spend a day on the pier."

Thousands of San Diegans flocked to North Island and Harbor Drive to see the new attraction berth at the Navy Pier across the street from Commander, Navy Region Southwest headquarters. Among the crowd were former crew members of the famous ship.

Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (SW) Brett G. Young, command master chief for Reserve Readiness Command Southwest, served on Midway as a deck seaman from 1978 to 1979.

"As the ship gets closer, I remember all those days I spent side-cleaning the starboard side back in Yokosuka, Japan," said Young. "This ship brings back lots of memories. We worked hard and we played hard on that ship."

According to many of the former crew members, the ship still has that "Midway Magic," a term coined while the ship was forward deployed in Japan. According to Billy Parcell, a former photographer's mate on Midway, the term comes from the Japanese word "Majutsue."

"It means no matter what happens, we are ready to answer the bell," said Parcell. "Whenever the president asked where the nearest carrier was in the Orient, he was asking where was the Midway."

More than 200,000 Americans have served aboard Midway, now known as the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum. But former shipmates are not the only ones drawn to the Midway-class carrier. Ned Bixby, a 60-year old native of Carlsbad, Calif., said, "There are millions like me who have not been in the Navy but who love and want to experience the Navy. This ship is our chance to do that."