The USS Carl Vinson, the Coronado-based aircraft carrier and its nearly 6,000 sailors, were deployed in the Seventh Fleet area of responsibility in Asia and the Fifth Fleet area in the Persian Gulf from Nov. 30, 2010 to June 15.
They executed numerous missions, but here's the one you probably heard about: The disposal of Osama bin Laden’s body at sea after Navy SEALs took out the terrorist who directed the 9/11 plot.
News outlets around the world reported that bin Laden’s corpse was taken to the Vinson after SEALs shot and killed him May 1. But the Navy will not discuss the details of what it refers to as “the Mission” for security reasons.
“When we’re given a mission, we execute it to the fullest extent, and I’m pretty sure we executed ‘that mission’ very well,” Capt. Bruce Lindsey said in a conference call two days before the Vinson came home.
Lt. Cmdr. Edward McLellan, amid the revelry of the carrier's return to Coronado, salutes before the hull number of the Vinson, which has been in service since 1982.
Kimberly Cunningham contributed to this report.
Patch.com communities have joined to demonstrate how 9/11 touched everyone around the country in the past decade. This photo was Coronado Patch's entry in the collection. See the faces, keepsakes, memorials, ceremonies, flags, fundraisers and deployments related to the attacks. Click through to see how your neighbors near and far remember 9/11.
For other Coronado Patch 9/11 coverage, see our dedicated page.
