The "Big John" was the last conventionally powered carrier built for the U.S. Navy, commissioned in 1968 as a tribute to the slain president who himself served the sea with distinction. A fixture of the Sixth Fleet for decades, she ranged across the Mediterranean and into the Persian Gulf, always ready. Her airwing flew strikes in Desert Storm, and she continued operating until 2007—one of the longest-serving carriers of her era. To her crew, she was simply the finest ship in the Navy.