The SS United States, once hailed as “America’s Flagship,” is preparing to leave port for the last time. For two families from Thibodaux, Louisiana, the storied ocean liner is more than a piece of maritime history — it’s a vessel of personal memories from journeys taken more than half a century ago.
a record-breaking past for the ss united states
Now rusting in the Port of Mobile, Alabama, the SS United States still holds the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing, set on its maiden voyage in 1952. The cruise from New York City to England took just three-and-a-half days at an average speed of more than 38 knots – about 44 mph. At nearly 1,000 feet long, it remains the largest passenger ship ever built in the United States. It was more than 100 feet longer than the Titanic. But beyond its engineering feats, the ship carried thousands of passengers across the Atlantic, including Jane and Harold Block of Thibodaux, who sailed in the summer of 1969.
“It had very powerful engines and the ship had a certain vibration because of these engines,” Jane Block recalled. Her husband Harold described the liner as “not a fancy ship like the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth. No chandeliers or anything like that.”
family memories – immigrating to america
That same summer, the Rathle family boarded the SS United States from their home in France, bound for New York City. Photographs show the family of six sailing past the Statue of Liberty on July 5, 1969. “I was completely impressed that they had the ability, the courage, and the faith to pick up everything they’d ever known and go to a country where it wasn’t their first language,” said Frank Rathle, who was just three years old at the time his family immigrated to America.
Though too young to remember the voyage, Rathle treasures the mementos his father saved — photos, menus, and brochures. And he recalls hearing his parents’ stories “over and over again.”
The End of an Era
By late 1969, only months after the Blocks and Rathles sailed, the SS United States was retired from service, unable to compete with the speed and affordability of the booming airline industry. The ship was eventually moored in Philadelphia for three decades as various attempts to restore it failed. (Click here for more from the SS United States Conservancy)
historic ss united states featured on tv
from ocean liner to artificial reef
In early 2025, the vessel was towed from Philadelphia to Mobile to be gutted and stripped of hazardous materials. Okaloosa County, Florida, purchased the ship with plans to sink it off the coast of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, creating the world’s largest artificial reef. (Click here to learn more about Okaloosa County’s plans for the reef and museum)
new legacy for the ss united states
The former passengers from Thibodaux welcome the transformation. “It will be repurposed for a very good reason,” Harold Block said. Rathle added, “The fact that it would be a reef with all kinds of life all around it has a beauty in it as well.”
For them, the SS United States will always be more than a ship — it is a vessel of memories, now bound for a new chapter beneath the waves.
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