The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy started its final voyage this week with an end destination set for Brownsville, Texas. The ship had been out of service since 2007 and spent the past nearly 18 years at the Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.

The retired U.S. Navy vessel will head to Brownsville, Texas, on a two-week journey that will end with the aircraft carrier's dismantling.

"Big John," as it was affectionately nicknamed, was decommissioned in 2007 and has been in Philadelphia ever since.

The retired USS John F. Kennedy​ aircraft carrier will embark on its final voyage after spending nearly two decades docked in Philadelphia.

Old soldiers (and old sailors for that matter) may fade away, but modern warships meet a crueler fate: they head to the scrap yard and are "broken up" after their years of service. It begins with a final transit this week.

Goodbye Big John; Ex- John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier on its final voyage

On a cold, dreary Thursday in Philadelphia, a smattering of people came to the waterfront to see the former Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CV-67) begin its final journey. Nicknamed “Big John,