Aircraft carrier propeller.

Propeller From Aircraft Carrier Shangri-La

This mighty hunk of metal weighs 50,000 pounds. It once helped to motor the USS Shangri-LA, an aircraft carrier, through enemy waters off of Vietnam. Now it acts as an eye-grabber for Meding & Son Seafood, a restaurant off of Hwy 1 in Delaware.

Anne Meding was behind the counter when we stopped by. She told us that her husband bought the propeller from the U.S. government in 1991, when the old carrier was being scrapped in Bayonne, New Jersey. She couldn't recall the price, but she knew that "it cost more to bring it here than to buy it."

The propeller's lower blades have rusted, but the Medings have covered all 25 tons of metal in gold paint as a preservative. It resembles a big hippie flower, but that's probably just fine for a Vietnam-era war relic.

"It's a landmark in Delaware," adds Mrs. Meding.

Propeller From Aircraft Carrier Shangri-La

Meding & Son Seafood

Address:: 3697 Bay Rd, Milford, DE
Directions:: Out in front of Meding & Son Seafood. On the west side of Hwy 1, just south of Frederica, at the intersection of Tub Mill Pond Rd/Millford Neck Rd.
Phone:: 302-335-3944

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