USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850)

History: USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850) is a former United States Navy Gearing-class destroyer. The ship was named after Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a naval aviator, son of the former Ambassador to Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., and older brother of future President John F. Kennedy. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. served, with interruptions for modernization, until 1973. Among the highlights of her service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. is on display as a museum ship in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts. She was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 as one of a small number of surviving Gearing-class destroyers.

Class: The Gearing class was a series of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II. The Gearing design was a minor modification of the Allen M. Sumner class, whereby the hull was lengthened by 14 ft (4.3 m) at amidships, which resulted in more fuel storage space and increased the operating range. The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945 and thus saw little service in World War II. They continued serving, with a series of upgrades, until the 1970s. At that time many were sold to other nations, where they served many more years.

Nine Gearing-class ships still exist. ARM Netzahualcóyotl (ex-Steinaker) was active in the Mexican Navy until 2014 and is slated to be sunk as an artificial reef. As of April 2012 two were laid up in non-operational condition in Kaohsiung, Taiwan: ROCS Chien Yang (ex-James E. Kyes) and ROCS Sheng Yang, (ex-Power). The other six are museum ships: TCG Gayret, (ex-Eversole), in Izmit, Turkey; ROKS Jeong Buk, (ex-Everett F. Larson), near Gangneung, South Korea; ROCS Te Yang, (ex-Sarsfield), in Tainan, Taiwan; USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. in Fall River, Massachusetts; ROKS Jeong Ju, (ex-Rogers), near Cheonan, South Korea and USS Orleck in Lake Charles, Louisiana. ROKS Kang Won (ex-William R. Rush), formerly a museum near Busan, South Korea, was scrapped as of December 2016.

Nationality: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.