Former sailors gather for farewell to the USS Arthur W. Radford

Like mourners gathered at the wake of a close friend, former crew members of the USS Arthur W. Radford stood vigil Wednesday over the decommissioned Navy destroyer as it began its slow descent into the Atlantic.

From aboard the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, they watched the warship drop low in the water, its decks flood, and jets of water, like final gasps, shoot into the air. Then, amid applause and ooh's and ahh's, the Radford's bow lifted and slipped into a bubbling cauldron of white and turquoise waters 29 miles south of Cape May Point.

After serving in the Persian Gulf War and in peacekeeping operations off Lebanon, the 564-foot ship was on its final mission - as the longest vessel ever turned into an East Coast artificial reef.

"Every ship has to meet its demise," said former crew member Dave Thieme, 47, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., who was accompanied by his wife, Sharon, 45, and sons, Ben, 16, and Adam, 14. "For it to become part of the ocean is a fitting end. It was my home for a year and just talking about it, I can feel myself choking up."

The Radford "is filled with a lot of memories," said another former crew member, Rob "Lew" Sax, 44, a Wilkes-Barre resident who came to say his goodbyes with his daughter, Amanda, 17. "This is like a burial at sea. At least it will have a new life."

The vessel, looking bedraggled with peeling paint and stripped interior and exterior, now becomes home to marine life, drawing bluefin tuna and mako sharks.

It will also be a magnet for divers and recreational fishermen - meaning tourism dollars for hotels, restaurants, retailers, and scuba-diving shops in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, all roughly equidistant from the reef site.

"This ship and its crew members have been all over the world protecting our country," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell during a recent visit to the Navy Yard, where the destroyer was prepared before being towed by tugboats to the reefing site. "Now, the Radford's new mission will bring people from across the nation and other parts of the world to our region.

"Our artificial reefs bring in thousands of fishing and dive trips annually, and that brings in something else we like to see - jobs."

For the former Radford sailors, though, Wednesday was a time to remember and honor the former destroyer while reconnecting with shipmates they hadn't seen in decades.

"I was one of the commissioning crew," said Charles Conway, 61, of Murfreesboro, Tenn. "I came to its decommissioning in 2003."

Conway, a chief data systems technician, was serving on the Radford when it provided surface security for President Jimmy Carter, who was aboard the attack submarine Los Angeles. "She was a beauty in her time," he said. "I'm glad she won't be turned into razor blades."

Seeing old shipmates was important for many of the former sailors who gathered at the end of the day for a group picture on the bow of the ferry MV Delaware. "I saw a guy that I haven't seen in 30 years," said Charlie Logue, 51, of York, Pa.

About 300 people - including the former sailors and officials from New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland - boarded the ferry for the three-hour trip to the reef site.

"Oh, man, they cut that thing all to pieces," said crew member J.D. Severt, 50, of Hanover, Pa., as he spotted the silhouette of the stripped-down destroyer in the distance. "She looks naked."

As water slowly filled the ship and more than a dozen private tugs and small vessels circled the destroyer, Severt read a poem of another Radford seaman over the ferry's public address system:

When we see St. Peter

On our judgment day,

He'll look in the book of records

And this is what he'll say:

"Lord, send these men to heaven

"I know their cases well

"For they are shipmates on the Radford

"And have done their time in hell."

The reefing of the Radford had been much anticipated since Delaware took title to the Spruance class destroyer last year.

"It's not exactly the opposite of a ship's christening, but a celebratory occasion just the same - for the environment and for the economies in this region," said Collin O'Mara, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, when he visited the ship this month at the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard.

Months of work was needed to prepare the Radford for its new role. Tons of aluminum, brass, bronze, and other metals were recovered for recycling, and efforts were made to make the vessel "diver-friendly." Sharp edges were rounded off and doors removed.

The site of the reefing is 29 miles from both Cape May Point and Ocean City, Md., and 26 miles from Indian River Inlet, Del.

The $800,000 cost was borne equally by the three states and the Navy. New Jersey's share came from the Ann Clark Foundation.

The ship was checked for PCBs, and "nothing came back hot," said Patrick Pawliczek, a principal of American Marine Group, the contractor in charge of the towing and sinking. "Asbestos was not an issue."

Divers such as Hugh Carberry, reef coordinator for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and others who witnessed the sinking Wednesday can't wait to visit the site. Carberry said he plans to dive on the ship next week.

The Radford's wheelhouse is 70 feet from the surface, and its bottom will be 130 feet down. "This will be one of the leading artificial reefs," he said.

The destroyer was commissioned in 1977 and sailed thousands of miles - to South America, Europe, the Persian Gulf, and elsewhere.

In 1999, it was severely damaged when it collided with the Saudi Riyadh, a 656-foot container ship heading toward the Chesapeake Bay for Baltimore.

The container ship hit the starboard side of the Radford, leaving a gash that cost $32.7 million to repair. The ship was deployed again to the Eisenhower battle group and decommissioned in 2003.

This week, the Radford was towed from Philadelphia to the reef site, where it was anchored Tuesday night. Concrete in the hull acted as ballast to stabilize it after the loss of so much weight from the salvaging operation, officials said.

On Wednesday, workers on board opened valves to let water in, and as the vessel dropped to the level of holes cut in the hull, more water rushed in.

The end came slowly - more than three hours after the ferry arrived.

But once the stern dropped, the ship went down in a minute. Struts attached to the stern dug into the ocean floor to prevent the ship from rolling on its side. Divers prefer wrecks that are upright.

Then, the bow lifted and slipped beneath the surface at 3:42 p.m.

Dave Thieme caught the scene on videotape.

"Wow," said his wife, Sharon.

"It took a while," he said as he looked at the empty ocean where the Radford had been moments before. "You can still see the bubbles coming up. She hasn't hit bottom."