Veterans of USS Enterprise to Assemble in Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is nowhere near an ocean, but a group of Navy veterans will gather in this Great Smoky Mountains resort town Aug. 17-21 to talk about a ship they love – the USS Enterprise.

The Enterprise went into service in 1961 as the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It’s still on active duty. The sailors gathering in the ship’s honor are members of the USS Enterprise Association, and all served on the Enterprise.

“We expect more than 100 members to attend,” said Bill Newby, a reunion organizer from Kingston, Tenn. Newby served on the Enterprise in 1968 and 1969.

Newby said early registrations have arrived from across the nation – Washington, California and Idaho in the West; Connecticut and Rhode Island in the East; Michigan and Pennsylvania in the Midwest; and Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in the South.

“Some of those coming are ‘plank owners,’ meaning that they were on board when the Enterprise went into service. It’s a term that goes back to the days of wooden ships. If you’re part of the first crew, you have a special sense of ownership,” Newby said.

The heritage of the Enterprise actually does go back to the era of wooden ships. The modern-day aircraft carrier is the eighth commissioned ship with that name. The first was a 70-ton sloop captured from the British on Lake Champlain in the Revolutionary War. The leader of the raid that captured the sloop was a soldier everyone has heard of, Benedict Arnold.

The seventh Enterprise was the first “Big E,” a World War II aircraft carrier that became the most decorated ship in history, according to the Navy’s website for the current ship. The seventh Enterprise participated in some of the largest battles in World War II, including the Battle of Midway.

Newby said the ship always tries to send a representative to the association’s reunion. He is hopeful that the Enterprise’s new commanding officer, Capt. O.P. Honors Jr., will attend the Pigeon Forge event.

The Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge is the reunion headquarters. Newby said attendees have various activities in Pigeon Forge and in the region, “but the main activity is talking about the ship.”

Events Pigeon Forge