Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 157

i 5BC3fc-J gVk' I 'fr v- js "4 4 01 1 A V'- i 'he C7SS Intrepid heads for the City and a new life as a museum because of persistent admirers aJSfr 2dE TAe Intrepid loaded for action in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966 7 4 -Jr establishing its own reputation as a carrier with which to be reckoned She was a fighter historians say the sole survivor of the US carriers that helped sink the Ya-moto arid the Matusi the two largest battleships during file war They say she destroyed well over 600 enemy aircraft in those days In recent years she served twice as the recovery ship for astronauts splashing down from space The vessel will be formally opened as a museum Oct 1 when dignitaries including Vice President George Bush will be on hand It will be berthed on the Hudson at Pier 66 at 46th Street It was five years ago that Ean a noted aviation historian and a public relations representative for Lufthansa German Airlines got the idea for the museum He tossed it out to business associates like Larry Sowinski of Huntington and Fred Borelli of Wantagh (now vice presidents of the foundation) They hunted around for possible sites for the museum and when it became apparent that officials in New York City were interested they formed the foundation there That was in 1978 They then began an intensive campaign to per-suade US Navy officials to donate the carrier to the museum foundation Those officials recommended file plan to Edward Hidalgo then the Secretary of the Navy who recommended it to Congress Congress authorized the donation and about two months ago a contract formalizing the donation and specifying what can and cannot be done to the carrier was signed by Navy Secretary John Lehman Jr Despite the presence of lot of Ean thinks the costly and time-consuming preparation has been worth it' been this resurgence of he says "The kids are trying to know what we were all about in those days They need to know what it was like and what file Intrepid did "This way they are involved They get educated without resenting By Marilyn Milloy SHE WAS due to make her New York City debut at this year's Independence Day Harbor Festival But the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid soon to be heralded as the first international aerospace and naval museum was judged much too grand for the occasion Spanning the length Of two football fields and towering as high as an eight-story building the 36- year-old vessel simply would have put her comrades to shame say her admirers who also concede to die bigger concern: that the Intrepid could have proved a hazard to navigation if tugged up the Hudson during the July 4 festival The vessel now being primed in Philadelphia is due in New York City harbor on Saturday And the nine Long Tslsnri businessmen who decided three years ago to prevent the carrier from being sent the way of scrap metal cant stop grinning After all they say talking about the only museum like this in the world talking about a 500-seat theater with a wraparound screen audio and visual effects that make you feel as if you're flying enormous flight and hangar decks with replicas of lunar modifies and balloons and rockets talking about halls of fame documentaries chronicles naval rooms with murals paintings artifacts and scores of ship and aircraft models recreating maritime and aviation history Fighters such as the Grumman F6F Hellcat which flew off the Intrepid in 1944 also will be on display talking about a vessel-to-museum conversion that will have cost well over $17 million raised through donations and a 315-million tax-free bond issue supported mostly by corporations by the time it opens on Oct 1 Is it madness? Not to James Ean "Three times She was practically destroyed three times and she came back much like the dilemma of New York City We just did not want her scrapped" says Ean an Intrepid enthusiast who now is president of the 90- SSI Nmdiy Pluto by Dean Km Ean center with James Reynolds left and Peter Caronia of the foundation Part 113 member nonprofit Intrepid Museum Foundation in New York City "It seemed pretty apropos to bring her to New he adds A Copiague resident Ean was a Navy bomber pilot during World War when the Intrepid was.