Is Jesus on the JFK?
I still haven't seen any ghosts on the USS John F. Kennedy, but I did find Jesus this morning. At least, that's what they call the 10-by-10-foot mural painted on a wall in the Auxillary Machine Room deep down in the aircraft carrier.
The painting depicts Jesus and his disciples in a fishing boat during a storm. Jesus is about to stop the storm in order to calm his worried disciples.
My search for the painting began this morning after a Jacksonville.com reader asked me if it was true the mural existed. I got different answers at first. Some said the painting was urban legend, others that it existed but they weren't sure where.
Then Petty Officer First Class Thomas Orf came through. One of the sailors assigned to assist TU photographer Jon Fletcher and I, he made some calls and learned that the mural was on a wall down in the ship's engineering spaces.
Not long afterward Jon and I and some of the visiting Navy Leaguers were being guided by Senior Chief Chris Tufts through hot, noisy spaces resembling forests of steamy pipes, valves and wheels. We turned a corner and there it was on a huge wall. "We call it Jesus," Tufts said. "We don't know what it's really called."
Lt. Cmdr. Dan Doolittle said the mural was painted in the early to mid-1970s. They don't know painted it, he said, but expect the artist may appear at the ship's decommissioning ceremony on March 23.
One word on departure: It looks like everything is go for our 1 p.m. escape from Boston. The winds are much calmer, the ship's eight boilers are lit and it seems we've got a green light. Stay tuned.
Jeff
The painting depicts Jesus and his disciples in a fishing boat during a storm. Jesus is about to stop the storm in order to calm his worried disciples.
My search for the painting began this morning after a Jacksonville.com reader asked me if it was true the mural existed. I got different answers at first. Some said the painting was urban legend, others that it existed but they weren't sure where.
Then Petty Officer First Class Thomas Orf came through. One of the sailors assigned to assist TU photographer Jon Fletcher and I, he made some calls and learned that the mural was on a wall down in the ship's engineering spaces.
Not long afterward Jon and I and some of the visiting Navy Leaguers were being guided by Senior Chief Chris Tufts through hot, noisy spaces resembling forests of steamy pipes, valves and wheels. We turned a corner and there it was on a huge wall. "We call it Jesus," Tufts said. "We don't know what it's really called."
Lt. Cmdr. Dan Doolittle said the mural was painted in the early to mid-1970s. They don't know painted it, he said, but expect the artist may appear at the ship's decommissioning ceremony on March 23.
One word on departure: It looks like everything is go for our 1 p.m. escape from Boston. The winds are much calmer, the ship's eight boilers are lit and it seems we've got a green light. Stay tuned.
Jeff
posted by Jeff at
11:02 AM
4 Comments:
Jeff,
I'm surprised no one knew about the painting in the Auxilary Machinery Room. When I was aboard (89-92) the reproduction of Rembrandt's Christ Calming the Sea,was a destination stop for all tours. Interestingly, the real painting was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston back in March 1990 and "our" painting became the single opportunity for art lovers to see this wonderful piece of work. The artist never signed the painting and his name was lost to time, but we do know he was a 27-year-old second class petty officer who loved painting more than his work as a machinist mate.
Ed Buczek
USS JFK
89-92
Ed -- thanks very much for the history lesson. No one here was sure it was a Rembrandt, and my art history knowledge is pretty poor so I didn't go there in the blog. Keep reading and commenting.
As a former MM on Big John, "Jesus" does exist on the Starboard bulkhead of the Auxilary Machinery room. I served from 97-01 and during that time, Carolyn Kennedy and John Kennedy, prior to his death visited the ship. That painting was one of the things that they asked specifically to see. Another tidbit. There are two small propellers beside the painting. Each person that takes on the responsibility of maintaining the painting etches their name in those propellers.
please see if jacksonville.com got my e-mail concerning the painting on the uss kennedy. I was sent from a shipyard i work for in norfolk to restore it during the kennedy's overhaul in Mayport in 2003.
H. Mummert signpainter
BAE systems (norfolk ship repair)
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