USS Carl Vinson

The Carl Vinson earned her place among the great carriers of the nuclear age, commissioned in 1982 and ready for everything that followed. She served as the platform for the burial at sea of Osama bin Laden in 2011—a moment etched into history. From WESTPAC deployments to Persian Gulf operations, CVN-70 carried generations of aviators into harm's way and brought them home again. To those who flew from her decks or kept her running below them, she is a ship worth remembering.