By SHELDON MOORE
Special to the PRESS
In December of 1956 Dwight Eisenhower was preparing for the upcoming January inauguration which would mark the beginning of his second term as President of the United States.
The cold war was in full swing with global tensions high following the end of World War II and the Korean conflict.
At the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, on the 27 of that month, the keel was laid for the construction of a new type of aircraft carrier that would become known as the Kitty Hawk class.
The completed Kitty Hawk, named for the North Carolina site of the Wright brothers first flight, was completed and commissioned in April of 1961.
She would go on to serve her country for 48 years and be the last of her class of carrier to be retired with decommission taking place in May of 2009. She was also the last diesel fueled aircraft carrier in the United States Navy.
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