JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The sail of the USS Jacksonville nuclear submarine, the only US Naval ship to be named after the city, is officially back home in its namesake city.
Its arrival Wednesday marked the end of its six-day journey from Seattle to a marina on Jacksonville’s Eastside.
Local Navy veterans gathered to watch as each piece was offloaded and placed in their temporary home.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Among them, Stephen Jorgensen, who once sailed on the USS Jacksonville and has spent a decade working to bring the sail back to the sub’s namesake city.
“When I reported aboard, I didn’t think I’d be where I am now here, you know, 40-plus years later,” said Jorgensen.
Action News Jax was first to tell you in July when the US Navy officially released the sail structure to Jorgensen’s group Bring the Sail 2 Jax.
Councilmember Will Lahnen (R-District 3), a former submariner himself, just got involved in the project last year.
He said the sail’s return marks a major milestone in the effort.
“Having the only warship named after Jacksonville to now have a significant part of its structure here, that means a lot to me. It means a lot to our overall veteran community as well,” said Lahnen.
Jorgensen explained local volunteers will spend the next year working to refurbish and reassemble the sail and the ship’s rudder.
When it’s done, his plan is for the sail to be permanently displayed near the USS Orleck, honoring local Navy vets and also standing to educate the next generation.
“It’s not only just the military side, it’s the engineering aspect. Having the MOSH right next door to that, you know, think about it. You have designed a basically piece of steel that’s designed to sink on purpose and come back up!” said Jorgensen.
The project up to this point has been completely funded through private donations, meaning no tax dollars were expended to make the move happen.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
