Kastastrophy
Wow, hopefully it is decently priced. I would probably want to build at least two of them, one for the apollo retrieval and then one for his service time during the war. I grew up listening to so many stories, and he is the reason I got interested in modeling, although I usually was more into cars.
The big question here: which war? The Hornet was active during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam - and, like most of the othe Essex-class carriers, she underwent modifications that changed her appearance dramatically during the course of her career.
If your father served on board her during World War II, you'll like the Dragon kit in 1/700 scale: http://www.squadron.com/NoStock.asp?item=DR7085 . (There are also several 1/700 WWII-configuration Essex-class kits from Revell and Hasegawa. Those are older kits; the Dragon one is to be preferred in just about every respect - except price.)
The Chinese company Trumpeter offers several Essex-class ships in the larger scale of 1/350, but the Hornet isn't among them. No two of the ships in that class were absolutely identical, and they were built in two major variants "short-hull" and "long-hull." The Hornet was in the "short-hull" group. If you're a real stickler for accuracy, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to convert the Trumpeter Franklin ( http://www.freetimehobbies.com/TRP5604.aspx ) to the Hornet. (And if you just put the Hornet's markings on it, few people would notice the difference. (For that matter, Trumpeter also has a Franklin in 1/700: http://www.freetimehobbies.com/TRP5730.aspx . The Trumpeter 1/700 Essex-class kits seem to have a good reputation, and some dealers sell them for a little less than the Dragon kits. All I can say from experience is that the Dragon ones are outstanding.)
The Essex class has been popular among the kit manufacturers ever since - well, ever since there have been plastic kits. The first one, I believe, came from Lindberg, in the early 'fifties: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/index.php?detail=2060&page=1&cat=Military Ship&manu=Lindberg . As you can see, those old kits sometimes command high prices on the collectors' market. There have been quite a few other Essex-class kits over the decades. But in terms of detail and accuracy they can't compete with the newer kits.
If you're interested in the WWII configuration, either Dragon or Trumpeter will provide the basis for a beautiful model. The 1960s configuration, with the "hurricane bow," angled deck, and modernized island, currently is only represented by that old Revell kit (which is about to be reissued). Dragon seems to have been working its way through the different permutations of the class in its 1/700 series; I suspect it will eventually issue one in the 1960s configuration, but I have no idea when.
It's a shame you didn't have the opportunity to build a model of the Hornet for your father. I gave my dad a model of his WWII ship (U.S.S. Bollinger, an attack transport - based on the old Revell Montrose kit) for Christmas when he was in his seventies; it was a big hit. One of the big regrets of my life is that I never got him to sit down in front of a tape recorder (preferably late at night, with a martini or two under his belt) and record his memories of his navy career.