"We want it sitting on the bottom perfectly upright," he said. "It will have one heck of a profile."
The destroyer, now at the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, is expected to be a premier attraction for divers and a magnet for recreational fishermen.
That means tourism dollars for hotels, restaurants, retailers, and scuba diving and tackle shops in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland - which are roughly equidistant from the reef site, said Jeff Tinsman, an environmental scientist in charge of the reef program for the Delaware Fish and Wildlife Division.
For scores of former Navy crew members who knew the Radford and walked its decks one last time this month, the ship's fate stirs emotions.
"I can walk through that ship blindfolded," said Keith Barth, 51, of Portsmouth, Va., who served as a first-class hospital corpsman on the Radford from 1989 to 1992. He recently toured the vessel, with its peeling paint and stripped interior and exterior.
The visit "brought back a flood of memories. I could say what each space used to be," said Barth, who served 30 years in the Navy.
"I plan to watch it go down," he said. "It will be emotional. It's like losing your grade school to fire."
Knowing the Radford won't be scrapped or used as a bombing target offers some solace, said Robert Sax, 43, who also visited this month. The resident of Plains, in Luzerne County, Pa., was a radio operator on the ship from 1985 to 1987.
"I'm glad it's serving a purpose," Sax said. "It will have a different life, like being born again."
The Radford had to be prepared 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.
