USS Ranger (CV-61) 1991 Cruise Sweatshirt

USS Ranger (CV-61) was a Forrestal-class aircraft carrier commissioned on August 10, 1957, homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. Named for the Continental sloop-of-war Ranger commanded by John Paul Jones, which in 1778 received the first salute ever given to an American flag by a foreign warship, Ranger saw combat in this deployment. This sweatshirt commemorates her 1991 cruise, during which Ranger sailed for the Persian Gulf and flew combat sorties against Iraqi forces beginning January 17, 1991, as part of Operation Desert Storm — one of the most intense combat deployments in the carrier's storied history.