After a tumultuous and difficult childhood, the stability of the United States Navy looked pretty appealing to Glenn. In January of 1986 he enlisted, and after training, served aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Independence. His entire time aboard the ship was during the time it was docked in Philadelphia to be overhauled.
Yes, a Cook – of course.
Unfortunately he had a medical discharge which cut his anticipated time short, meaning he remained in the Port of Philadelphia… very close to home. Given this Glenn did not see duty in the Persian Gulf, although his ship and former shipmates did.
Coincidentally, Glenn’s ship also ended up docking in California as her home port, after her rehab in Philly, and was host to a few movie scenes, which I’m sure Glenn would have thoroughly enjoyed.
About the USS Independence
The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal class of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet.
Independence was decommissioned in 1998 after 39 years of active service. Stored in recent years at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, the ex-Independence was towed beginning on 10 March 2017 to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping. She arrived on 1 June 2017 and dismantling was completed by early 2019.
On 17 February 1985, Independence arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to undergo a modernization and overhaul program to extend her service life by 15 years. The flight deck was improved to allow the recovery of high-performance aircraft while the ship traveled at slower speeds, and the NATO Sea Sparrow launchers were upgraded. Other improvements improved the ship’s fuel consumption. Independence completed the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in June 1988. Setting sail 15 August 1988 from Norfolk, the ship transited the tip of South America and arrived at her new homeport of NAS North Island, in San Diego, California, 8 October.
The Paramount film Flight of the Intruder (1991), starring Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, and Brad Johnson was filmed partly on Independence. The aircraft carrier went out for two weeks of filming in November 1989; the on-board fire party was kept busy dealing with the numerous small electrical fires that the movie crew had started with their lighting equipment.[14]
Read more about the USS Independence on Wikipedia