Why America Can't Save Its Last Great Liner

My book, The Times You Grew Up With, takes you back: https://paulmcallister.store The SS United States was the fastest ocean liner ever built — and she still holds the transatlantic speed record from her 1952 maiden voyage. Designed by naval architect William Francis Gibbs, built at Newport News with Cold War defense money, she was part luxury liner, part secret troopship. The government paid almost $78 million. United States Lines paid about $28 million. Then the jet age arrived, and nobody needed her anymore. She went out of service on November 14, 1969. What followed was 57 years of failed rescue plans — an auction that sold a million objects from her interiors, an asbestos removal in Sevastopol, broken promises from Norwegian Cruise Line and Crystal Cruises, a rent dispute at a Philadelphia pier, and a federal judge’s order to leave. Now Okaloosa County, Florida owns her, and the sinking is scheduled for the second week of November 2026, off the coast of Destin. This is the story of America’s last great ocean liner — how she was built, why she was abandoned, and why no one could save her. Sources: Harry S. Truman, “Letter to the Attorney General on the Sale of the SS United States,” June 20, 1952 — Truman Presidential Library (trumanlibrary.gov) SS United States Conservancy — history, fast facts, and timeline (ssusc.org) Tatyana Rikhtun, “The United States of America and Its Asbestos Traces on the Sevastopol Shore,” Sevastopolskaya Gazeta, 2007 (via i-scoop.org) The Philadelphia Inquirer — coverage of the Penn Warehousing rent dispute and Judge Brody’s 2024 ruling The Maritime Executive — “Plans Announced for the Last Voyage of Famed Ocean Liner SS United States,” November 7, 2024 Okaloosa County, Florida — official project FAQ and reef deployment announcements, 2024–2026 ou back: https://paulmcallister.store