Click Photo to view a Slideshow of the event.

FAREWELL VOYAGE: USTS TEXAS CLIPPER

The USTS Texas Clipper is preparing for a new role – that of an artificial reef.  After a being in storage at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet, she was towed to a Brownsville shipyard on Friday, November 3, 2006. There, she will undergo preparations to become a Texas Parks and Wildlife artificial reef in late spring or early summer 2007.

First known as the USS Queens (APA 103), she served as an attack transport. From 1944 to 1946 she carried troops and treated Iwo Jima casualties.  From 1948 to 1959, as the SS Excambion she carried passengers and cargo between New York City and Mediterranean ports. In her most recent life from 1965-1996, she proudly served as the USTS Texas Clipper, the training ship for the Texas Maritime Academy located at Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Texas A&M University at Galveston hosted a public Farewell Viewing at Waterfront Park in Port Arthur.

USS Queens ~ SS Excambion ~ USTS Texas Clipper

 
Click Photo to view a Slideshow of the event.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Artificial Reef – USTS Texas Clipper Link:

www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/habitats/artificial_reef/texas_clipper.phtml

If you would like to submit personal photos or stories about your experiences with USTS Texas Clipper please click here.


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