THIBODAUX, La. (WAFB) – This old, decaying ship in the port of Mobile, Alabama, has an impressive past. It\u2019s the largest passenger ship ever built in the USA and still holds the transatlantic speed record set on her maiden voyage in 1952.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery powerful engines and the ship had a certain vibration because of these engines,\u201d said Jane Block.<\/p>\n
Jane Block and her husband, Harold Block of Thibodaux, had been married a year when they crossed the Atlantic on the SS United States in the summer of 1969.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was not a fancy ship like the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth. No chandeliers, anything like that. It was a very utilitarian type vessel,\u201d said Harold Block.<\/p>\n
The cruise ship was also part of the US Naval Reserve. The plan was that it could quickly convert from luxury liner to a speedy troop carrier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the dining room,\u201d said Mrs. Block.<\/p>\n
The Blocks are sharing their cruise memories with Frank Rathle of Thibodaux, who has his own connection to the famous ship.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe arrived right here on these pictures are all July 5th, 1969,\u201d said Rathle.<\/p>\n
Rathle\u2019s family packed and moved all of their belongings on the SS United States when the family immigrated from France to America, only weeks apart from the Block\u2019s cruise. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was completely impressed that they had the ability, the courage, and the faith to pick up everything they\u2019ve ever known and go to a country where it wasn\u2019t their first language,\u201d said Rathle.<\/p>\n
How old were you when you got on that ship to come to America? And do you have any memories at all?<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, I was three years old, and no, I do not have any memories. I only have a historical memory just because I\u2019ve been repeated the stories over and over again,\u201d said Rathle.<\/p>\n
Those memories include the photographs of young Frank and his family passing the Statue of Liberty. His father saved everything from that trip, a map of the state rooms, pictures of the restaurants, the showroom, and movie theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne evening it was rough and the curtain swayed back and forth,\u201d said Mrs. Block.<\/p>\n
And the lunch and dinner menus from every day of the trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cJuly 3rd, the gala dinner. I do recall them saying it was just fantastic,\u201d said Rathle.<\/p>\n
Later that year, the SS United States would make its final cruise. Even her speedy engines couldn\u2019t compete with the booming airline industry for transatlantic crossings. The old luxury ship is being gutted and cleaned of hazardous materials. It will be sunk off the coast of Florida to create the world\u2019s largest artificial reef.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be repurposed for a very good reason,\u201d said Mr. Block.<\/p>\n
Frank Rathle recently went to Mobile to add his own memory to the stories he heard from his parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that it would be a reef with all kinds of, you know, life all around. It has a beauty in it as well,\u201d said Rathle.<\/p>\n
These Thibodaux families have their own ties to America\u2019s flagship, a fast and mighty ocean liner that is now destined for a new home at sea. <\/p>\n
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