Final Cruise of the USS Sacramento (AOE-1)
Indian Island, WA to Bremerton WA
25 June 2004
A photo story
by R.W. Husted, QMC(SW) USN (Ret)
All photos are clickable.
Feel free to download as you wish.
The first and best of her class
of Combat Replenishment ships
and the last ship to be built by the Naval Shipyard,
Bremerton , WA.
USS Sacramento (AOE-1) was to be decommissioned in Oct. of 2004
after 40 years of service to the Navy.
(Click here for ship's spec's,
additional info and USS Sacramento links.)
This is me in 1980, when I was a QM3 (E-4)
shooting a sun line from Sacramento's stbd bridge wing.
On June 25,
2004, the Captain and crew of the Sacramento invited their
families, friends and former shipmates for her final cruise down
Puget Sound, from the Naval Ordinance Station at Indian Island
(across from Port Townsend) to the Naval Station, Bremerton.
As a former crew member, I joined the cruise and took over 125
photos of the trip which you can view by clicking on this link;
Final Cruise Photos
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The
guests
were greeted by a wet and gray sky, but that did little
to dampen the spirits and we were free to wander all
around the ship and enjoy a continental breakfast in the
hangar before the underway briefing at 1000.
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To demonstrate the jobs and
life of a Sacramento sailor, the crew set up wonderful
static displays of the replenishment stations, weapons
systems , and Damage Control equipment.
Knowledgeable sailors were everywhere and all were eager
to show off their ship and explain all of the ins and
outs of her operation.
In some cases guests were invited to "dress the part" as
they donned the fire fighting suits and OBAs (Oxygen
Breathing Apparatus)
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Around
1100
we were underway and "Sac" moved away gracefully,
as only she can, leaving everything in her wake.
As we steamed south in Puget Sound the weather
forecasters were again proved wrong as we enjoyed a
wonderfully sunny day.
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