USS Lexington Museum Unveils First F9F-8 Cougar Painted Pink in Support of Breast Cancer Awareness

The USS Lexington today unveiled the very first F9F-8 Cougar painted in pink. The F9F-8 Cougar will be on display on the flight deck of this WWII era aircraft carrier through the end of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

The idea was presented by the Director of Operations & Exhibits, Rusty Reustle, from a technique he observed Disney using while filming the blockbuster movie, Pearl Harbor, aboard LEX. Dishwashing liquid is applied to latex paint and prevents the paint from becoming permanent. The paint color on the F9F-8 Cougar is a vibrant shade of pink called “Heliconia.”

The F9F-8 Cougar is the swept wing version of its forerunner, the F9F Panther -- Grumman's first jet fighter plane. The Blue Angels flew with the F9F-8 and one –8T from 1955 to 1958. The USS Lexington chose a fighter plane in support of all who have fought and continue to fight the battle of cancer.

On 29 January 1992, LEXINGTON arrived at Naval Station Ingleside and became a permanent Texas resident. On 8 June 1992, the United States Navy officially signed over LEXINGTON to city officials and on 17 June she was towed to her final berth on North Beach. The USS LEXINGTON was opened to the public in OCTOBER 1992, and on 14 November was dedicated in a formal ceremony attended by representatives of the City, State and Federal governments, as well as former crew members and members of numerous veterans organizations.

Rebekah Brooks, Senior Sales Manager
P.O. Box 23076
Corpus Christi, TX 78403
sales@usslexington.com

This release was published on openPR.