USS Saratoga arrives in South Texas to be scrapped

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Saratoga has arrived at its final destination in South Texas, where it will be scrapped.

The Saratoga on Friday reached the Esco Marine ship recycling plant in Brownsville. The Navy is paying Esco Marine a penny to dispose of the Saratoga. It plans to make money by selling what it recovers from the ship.

The Saratoga had departed Rhode Island on Aug. 21.

It was named for the decisive battle of the American Revolution fought in upstate New York. The vessel was commissioned in 1956 and completed 22 deployments before it was decommissioned in 1994.

It was off the coast of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, off Vietnam during the Vietnam War and in the Persian Gulf during the first Iraq War.