b'U . S .M i l i t a r ythen recommissioned and transferred to homeport San Diego, from which de- After receiving his commission as a naval officer, Banta started flight school ployments again took the ship to the Far East. In 1962, the Lex was assigned itsin 1992 at NAS Corpus Christi and met his future wife, Sarah, who was a grad-new mission as a training carrier at homeport Pensacola, which was delayeduate of Calallen High School. As a Seahawk helicopter pilot, the Navy version briefly when it was sent to support U.S. Naval operations during the Cubanof the Army Blackhawk, Bantas deployments never landed him back in Cor-Missile Crisis. By this time, the Navy was building and deploying its new gen- pus Christi, and as he advanced in rank, he commanded the HSL-48 Vipers in eration of nuclear-powered super-carriers. Mayport, Florida, and eventually was working in the Washington, D.C., area. In its new mission as a pilot training platform, the direct connection betweenAfter achieving the rank of Captain, Banta and several of his colleagues were the USS Lexington and NAS Corpus Christi (NASCC) was reestablished to whereon track to command bases and were given a list of 20 potential assignments.it began two decades earlier, as the world entered the grips of World War II.Captain Banta and his wife Sarah chose their dream of returning to Corpus Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) Command was headquartered at NA- Christi as their first choice, and sure enough, they got it! Taking command of SCC, and student pilots earned their wings of gold with training that includedNASCC in the summer of 2014, Steve Banta, for the first time in his life, had landing on the Lexmany of them airmen headed to the Vietnam theater likefound a real, permanent home in the community in which his wife grew up future Senator John McCain, who survived a crash in Corpus Christi Bay. and where the couple and their son had spent so many holidays and family The Lexingtons Life After Service vacations.Almost three decades into its mission as a training platform, the USS Lexing- As commanding officer of NAS Corpus Christi, Captain Banta quickly integrat-ton was decommissioned for the last time in 1991, and its fate became un- ed into important, local institutions including the USS Lexington Museum on certain. Boston, Massachusetts, Mobile, Alabama, and Corpus Christi enteredthe Bay. Its longest-serving director, retired U.S. Navy Captain Frank Rocco bids to win the retiring carrier as a museum and public venuewith membersMontesano, took the job in 1998 after retiring, himself, as base command-of our fair community embarking upon the most organized effort to win theer. A universally beloved and admired member of the community, Montesano ship. Landing Force 16 formed to promote the Land the Lex campaign thatserved 27 years in the Navy, mostly flying the A-6 Intruder off the decks of finally brought the Navys most famed and celebrated warship to North Beachfour different aircraft carriers. After forming a personal and working friend-in Corpus Christi, opening as the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay in 1992,ship with Banta, Montesano encouraged him to apply for the job as executive the 30th anniversary of which was celebrated on November 14, 2022. director of the Lex following his retirement from the Navy. Captain Banta for-Retired U.S. Navy Captain Steve Banta is a second-generation naval aviator,mally took the post in January 2018, sadly just three months before Montesa-his family moving base to base throughout his childhood. Steve was born atno died of cancera devastating blow to the Coastal Bend community.NAS China Lake, California, the Navys largest, single, base that encompassesA Landmark Like No Otherover one million acres of land in the remote Mojave Desert, and the family wasOver the three decades since the iconic USS Lexington made its final voyage living in Vienna, Virginia, when he graduated high school and accepted an ap- to Corpus Christi Bay, it has become the identifying landmark of the city and pointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. its close and deep military roots. No Coastal Bender, of any age or duration as left :The USS Lexington sailing into port, while still assigned to NAS Pensacola.middle :The Lex arriving at its new home on North Beach.right :USS Lexington Museum on the Bay Executive Director Captain Steve Banta, U.S. Navy, retired.Caller-Times photo102THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'