CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Tuesday will be a big day for the Sea Turtle Base of Corpus Christi.
If their efforts pay off, Sherrill Veterans Memorial Park could be the final homeport for the U.S.S. City of Corpus Christi. Not the entire nuclear-powered submarine, just its sail.
Plans call for the sail of the submarine to be installed at the park, set up near the corner of Cooper's Alley and Shoreline Boulevard.
The 60-ton sail is 17 feet tall and 26 feet long.
Its planes, the wing-like structures that stick out from its sides, are 30 feet wide.
Construction on the U.S.S. City of Corpus Christi began on September 4th, 1979 at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Groton, Connecticut.
The nuclear-powered attack submarine was launched on April 25, 1981 and the submarine visited Corpus Christi twice while on active duty. The first visit was in March 1983.
She was decommissioned on May 30,2016 but Corpus Christi council members may sign off on one more mission for her.
At Tuesday's council meeting, council members will consider an agreement that would clear the way for the submarine's sail to be installed at Sherrill Veterans Memorial Park.
In 2016, Sea Turtle Base of Corpus Christi created the U.S.S. City of Corpus Christi Submarine Memorial Incorporated.
U.S.S.C.C.C Inc's mission has been to install the submarine's sail at Sherrill Veterans Memorial Park as a memorial and tribute to the more than 2,500 submariners who served on the U.S.S. City of Corpus Christi.
The agreement being voted on Tuesday would authorize the placement and maintenance of the sail at the park. That would be under the condition that U.S.S.C.C.C Inc. takes responsibility for all costs related to installation and maintenance of the sail.
There was some controversy when the Navy announced plans to name a nuclear attack submarine after Corpus Christi.
The submarine was originally going to be named the U.S.S Corpus Christi.
In 1981the National Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to the Department of the Navy asking for a name change. The nation's Catholic bishops stated the reason was due to the name of Corpus Christi meaning the Body of Christ in Latin.
The name was eventually changed to the U.S.S. City of Corpus Christi.
