On 7/17/14 I asked Jerry Jones if he really felt the Gage could be saved.

Here is his response:

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Gerald Jones 
To: 'USS Neshoba Website' 
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 11:53 AM
Subject: RE: APA 168 Gage pictures posted

Thanks for the web page Russ. Hopefully it might help inspire the group. WATCH MY LIPS. . . .I honestly believe that Gage is savable. 

• The ship appears to be in very good structural condition.
• It only sailed for 2 or 3 years and the hull is not beat to death. 
• Strangely, the rust is not deep and seems to have actually protected the steel. 
• Yes, she has been stripped, but what is missing are the small lightweight items that can be replaced. The main engine looks to be complete and in very good condition. You can’t actually run the propulsion system because it will always still belong to the US Navy, but it can be a real showplace because the catwalks are all there, the machine shop with big tools are still there because that stuff is just too heavy to have been carried off. 
• All the stuff that would be too difficult, too expensive to replace is still there – the masts, the booms, the winches, the ovens, grills, the galley and the mess decks, the WWII heads etc. (It would make a great restaurant in some place like Miami) Rent out office space to a “save the planet group”. 
• The ship is big – what, a hundred and fifty feet longer than Slater, but it is not TOO BIG. The guys trying to save the Saratoga will have an almost impossible job just trying to keep the outside painted with volunteer help. Gage has ROOM, room for overnights, a big museum, classrooms, room that Slater doesn’t have. 
• It is THE ONLY APA left. . . . .