Phase 1 (Currently under construction)
The Cecil Field Legacy Plaza and Memorial Presented by VyStar (Phase 1) will honor all who were lost while stationed at NAS Cecil Field; Naval Aviators, Aircrewman and others who lost their lives will be remembered.
It will also honor the history of the USS Saratoga (CV-60), and the USS Forrestal (CV-59) 1967 incident that took the lives of 134 crewmembers.
Your coin purchase will go directly to the completion of the Phase 1 area consisting of the 4 Cecil Field based aircraft, replica of the runway structure, and the memorial brick area.
Moving The Aircraft To The Pads February 26, 2023
Benefactor Memorial Brick Update
The A-7 And F-18 That Will Be On Display In Phase 1
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
USS SARATOGA was the second ship in the FORRESTAL – class and the second “super – carrier” in the world. USS SARATOGA was the fifth ship in the Navy to bear the name. Commissioned as attack aircraft carrier CVA 60, the SARATOGA was redesignated as multi-purpose aircraft carrier CV 60 on June 30, 1972. Stricken from the Navy list on August 20, 1994, the SARATOGA was initially laid up at Philadelphia, PA., but was towed to Newport, RI., in 1998. During that time the carrier was on donation hold, however, on April 2, 2010, the Navy decided to scrap the SARATOGA.
She spent the following years at Naval Station Newport awaiting her fate. In May 2014, the Navy announced that ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Tx, would scrap the SARATOGA for one cent. The carrier left Newport under tow on August 21, 2014, and arrived at Brownsville on September 15, 2014.
USS Forrestal (CV-59)
USS FORRESTAL was the first “super – carrier” in the world. Commissioned as attack aircraft carrier CVA 59, the FORRESTAL was redesignated as multi-purpose aircraft carrier CV 59 on June 30, 1975. She was the lead ship of the FORRESTAL class of which all four carriers have been decommissioned during the 1990s. After decommissioning, the USS FORRESTAL was used as parts hulk for the other active carriers. For years, the FORRESTAL was laid up at the Naval Station in Newport, RI., and the USS FORRESTAL Museum Inc. tried to purchase the carrier for use as a museum ship in Baltimore, Md. However, the Navy was unwilling to donate the carrier. Instead, the FORRESTAL was towed to the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Penn., in mid-June 2010, and a contract was awarded to clean up the FORRESTAL in preparation for a SinkEx. The plan to sink FORRESTAL, however, was cancelled in December 2010, and the carrier was subsequently designated to be scrapped. On October 22, 2013, the FORRESTAL was sold for scrapping for the symbolic price of 1 cent to All Star Metals of Brownsville, Tx.