Organization seeking former USS Intrepid crew members

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum reported that Aug 16 will mark the 80th anniversary of the commissioning of USS Intrepid (CVS-11), the World War II-era Essex class aircraft carrier that is now the centerpiece of the New York City museum To mark the occasion, the museum will put out a coast-to-coast “all call” for Intrepid former crew members to be reunited at a special 80th Commissioning Anniversary Celebration on board the ship

The museum is also seeking and accepting donations of personal artifacts and memorabilia from former crew members and their families The museum noted that each item added to the collection helps it perpetuate, honor, express and interpret Intrepid’s stories of service, and to fulfill its mission to honor, educate and inspire millions of people each year

The museum reported that the homecoming will fea-

County’s annual food-rescue campaign taking donations

Lee County Solid Waste’s fifth annual “Donated not Wasted” food rescue campaign encourages seasonal residents and visitors to donate unopened pantry items before returning north

Join Solid Waste, the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Waste Pro, Lee County Library System, Sanibel Public Library and Lee County Parks & Recreation to help route food that might otherwise end up in the waste stream to the county's population of people in need Drop off unopened canned or dry goods from now through April 10 at open libraries or county recreation centers Additional collection containers are at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Interpretive Center and Lee County Solid Waste’s Topaz Court Facility

The drop-off locations include:

Recreation centers

∫ Estero Recreation Center, at 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd , Estero

∫ North Fort Myers Recreation Center, at 2000 North Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers ture a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Intrepid’s commissioning on Aug 16, honoring former crew members from all eras of the carrier’s service, who will reunite and share stories of their tours of duty It will host a special former crew member dinner event that evening and guided tours of the ship For some former crew members, it will be the first time they have been aboard their ship since the completion of their service While the museum recognizes the ship’s commissioning anniversary every year, the 80th celebration promises to be the largest gathering of former crew members since the 75th anniversary in 2018 the visiting former crew members

Reynolds St , Bonita Springs

∫ Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library, at 921 S W 39th Terrace, Cape Coral

∫ Dunbar-Jupiter Hammon Public Library, at 3095 Blount St , Fort Myers

∫ East County Regional Library, at 881 Gunnery Road, Lehigh Acres

∫ Fort Myers Regional Library, at 2450 First St , Fort Myers

∫ Johann Fust Community Library, at 1040 W 10th St , Boca Grande

∫ North Fort Myers Public Library, at 2001 N Tamiami Trail, North Fort Myers

∫ Northwest Regional Library, at 519 N. Chiquita Blvd N , Cape Coral

∫ Pine Island Public Library, at 10701 Russell Road, Bokeelia

∫ Sanibel Public Library, at 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel

∫ South County Regional Library, at 21100 Three Oaks Parkway, Estero

Others

∫ Six Mile Cypress Slough Interpretive Center, at 7751 Penzance Blvd , Fort Myers

∫ Topaz Court Solid Waste Annex, at 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers

Since the program's inception, 25,385 pounds of food has been diverted from potential disposal and sent to Harry Chapin enough food to provide more than 21,000 meals to residents.

T h e m u s e u m a e p i d ’ s 8 0 t h Commissioning Anniversary Celebration is open to the public, and will feature events specifically tailored for former crew members and their families, as well as opportunities for members of the public to interact with

Now a national historic landmark, the aircraft carrier Intrepid was one of the most successful and stalwart ships in U S history Nicknamed “The Fighting I” by its crew, it served in the Pacific during World War II, surviving five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike It later conducted submarine surveillance in the North Atlantic during the Cold War and served three tours of duty off Vietnam It was also one of the primary recovery vessels for NASA during the Mercury and Gemini missions, and retrieved astronauts Scott Carpenter, Gus Grissom and John Young after their respective orbits and splashdowns in the Pacific

To learn more about the commemoration and for registration information, former crew members and their family members can visit intrepidmuseum org/80 or contact fcm@intrepidmuseum org