It is with sadness that I saw the pictures of USS America being towed to the Atlantic Ocean for her last mission. I decided to take a scan of the picture that I’ve included with this E-mail, me next a F-14 Tomcat, in 1991 while I was in Azores AFB, as we had a visit of some two tomcats and two A-6 intruders from the USS America, that it was stationed nearby as we could spot it on the line of the horizon, from Lajes in Azores, Portugal. You may ask how I can speak of sadness, if I never served in a carrier, and I was at that time a mere 18 year old boy, airman 1st class, in the Portuguese air force. I still remember very well that bright morning, when I woke up, with one of buddy’s saying: “Wake up man, there are Tomcats parked in the spots” First I didn’t believe him, when I went at the window, I couldn’t believe it, there was there the Tomcats, and A-6 Intruders also. 10 minutes after we were already with our cameras taking pictures next to the Tomcats and Intruders, for us much more than “just airplanes”, as many of us joined the Portuguese Air Force, after all the emotion, and glamour that Top Gun brought to our teenager lives, even without a single chance, to serve in our lives in a carrier (I wasn’t able to visit a single one till today) For bringing to my live for a moment, with the Tomcat visit to Lajes AFB, all the dreams of teenager, all the expectations, that due to reality could never became true, thank you very much USS America. You always will be in my memory, as a ship that made a dream come true for a moment.

Yours sincerely,

Carlos Ferreira