As one of the pre-reunion events of the 55th Harvard & Radcliffe Classes of 1960 Reunion, a guided tour of the USS Intrepid was arranged for 8 April 2015. The USS Intrepid is now the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in the Hudson River in New York City. Access to all aspects of the Museum and a nice lunch were included.
Ken Marshall, initiator, organizer and host of this exceptional and unique Harvard & Radcliffe Classes of 1960 pre-reunion event, submitted the following account:
The USS Intrepid was chosen to "host" this historical museum for its distinguished service in World War II (The USS Intrepid is one of the four remaining Essex class carriers which were the naval vessels largely responsible for our victory in the Pacific), Vietnam, and the intervening years, when it was the first naval vessel to recover two spacecraft in the Pacific. The museum chronicles the broad spectrum of naval aviation as well as space exploration. Multiple aircraft -- Stealth, MIG, Mirage, Skyhawk, Avenger, Crusader, Concorde -- are on board or adjacent to the ship ... and the Space Pavilion is complete with the Enterprise space vehicle. For this current year, there is a comprehensive and remarkable Hubble Telescope exhibit as well. Finally, adjacent to the ship is the USS Growler, a nuclear sub.
Members of the Harvard & Radcliffe Classes of 1960 and their family, along with a few guests from adjacent classes enjoyed the interesting and informative guided tour as well as a small lunch and adequate subsequent time to explore other parts of the museum including interactive simulators, particularly enjoyed by the grandchildren.
Like so many extra events during reunion years, and, in this case, off campus and in NYC, this event proved to be a very popular addition to our 55th reunion year.
