USS Kitty Hawk Model Displayed at County Building

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone welcomed the arrival of a model of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk Tuesday to the H. Lee Dennison Building where it will serve as a historical reminder of the sacrifices made by members of the U.S. military.

“The USS Kitty Hawk, itself named for an important development in aviation, has a long and illustrious history of service to our country,” County Executive Bellone said. “For more than 40 years, Kitty Hawk sailors have gone to sea in defense of our country. We are proud to have such a piece of history in this building and grateful that we had the opportunity to give the model a good home.”

The model weighing more than 500 pounds was built by David D. Kemler of Coram, an artist at Southside Hospital where it was displayed before moving to MacArthur Airport. Lt. (jg) Gary Vertichio of the Lt. Michael Murphy Division of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Corps, said the model will remain on display at the county building but is expected to eventually move to a Navy SEAL museum.

The Kitty Hawk launched in 1960 and was decommissioned in 2009, after completing 18 deployments in nearly 50 years of service around the world. The carrier is currently held in reserve status.