We spent last weekend on The U.S.S. Yorktown in Charleston Harbor. It was a deeply moving experience because, you see, Navy blood runs very deep in my family. I did not serve, and if I could go back and change that fact, I most certainly would. However, my father served in WWII, as did three of my uncles. Jackie’s dad served as well. My late nephew Kevin served with honor, God Rest His Soul. My step-brother served on the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, and I have a second cousin currently serving. Navy blood runs deep, indeed.
Jackie’s grandson Gavin is in the Cub Scouts, and the Coastal Carolina Council and Patriots Point have partnered to host numerous events for the Boy Scouts. We found out in November that Gavin’s pack was making the trip in February. Jackie found out grandparents were welcome to stay on board as well, so this trip was my Christmas present.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Yorktown, it is not one to be missed. To board a WWII era aircraft carrier, spend the night on her an explore her was, for me, a once in a lifetime experience. The women slept in the officer’s quarters with three bunks to a room. The men’s quarters were more spartan. In fact, it resembled a cow pen. Imagine seventy five bunks stacked four high in a forty by twenty foot room, half occupied by grown men and the other half seven and eight year old boys. We shared one head with six johns, sinks and showers. I will say, however, the showers were roomy. Not like a cruise ship where you can’t turn around without the shower curtain visiting uninvited places. The hot water taps worked as well, and not just for a few seconds.
We ate galley food, served on a tray. Breakfast consisted of bacon, scrambled eggs, a cinnamon roll and coffee. Lunch was ham sandwiches with potato chips and a cookie. Dinner was chicken or pork barbecue, baked beans, potato salad, rolls and tea. In the weeks leading up to the event, I was hoping for authentic Navy food served on a shingle…
Upon boarding her and looking around, my first reaction was, “How can something this big float?” The trip is geared toward experiencing the daily lives and routines of the sailors, pilots and officers who served on board. On the flight deck are some of the more modern jet aircraft, including an F-8 Crusader, an F/A-18 Hornet and, of course, a “Top Gun” F-14 Tomcat. On the hangar deck below, however, is where the history lives. Preserved perfectly are numerous WWII aircraft including a B25 Bomber flown by the legendary Jimmy Doolittle, an F6F Hellcat, an SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber and my personal favorite, an F4U Corsair. I was struck by the size of the fighter planes. They are large and tall, almost as large as the B25 Bomber. The 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney rotary engines necessitated a much larger front fuselage than I had imagined.
On Saturday we took the ferry out to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. It was freezing cold with about a 40 mph wind. The Scouts helped unfold the flag, and four of us helped raise her. And in that wind, it took all four of us to get her up there. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. I helped raise the flag on Fort Sumter. The American flag, the way God intended it to be.
The Yorktown on display at Patriots Point is the CV-10. The original U.S.S. Yorktown CV-5 was lost in The Battle of Midway June 7, 1942. The CV-10 was under construction at the time, and was named the Yorktown to honor the lost CV-5. She is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. They say she is haunted and they do ghost tours on her as well. I suppose every warship is haunted in some way, particularly those that served in WWII.
And probably none more so than the U.S.S. Laffey DD-724, a destroyer docked in Patriots Point as well. April 16, 1945 off the coast of Okinawa, she withstood an attack by Japanese dive bombers and one of the most, if not the most, unrelenting kamikaze air attacks in history. Hit by four bombs and six kamikaze crashes she remained afloat, earning her the name “The Ship That Would Not Die”.
I toured the Laffey Sunday morning. We had departed the Yorktown and had breakfast at the Sea Biscuit Cafe on Isle of Palms. Afterwards, Jackie insisted we return to Patriots Point so I could tour the Laffey and the U.S.S. Clamagore, a submarine also docked at Patriots Point. I was alone on the ship. Touring her, I came to really understand the bravery of the young enlisted men and officers who served not only on her, but in all branches of the service. I thought of J.B., Jackie’s dad, a lot. He served on a destroyer, the U.S.S. Providence. I watched the video of the attack and two of the men who survived were interviewed. One was eighteen years old at the time, the other nineteen. I know where I was when I was eighteen and nineteen and it sure as hell wasn’t fighting a war in the Pacific. There were no safe spaces and the only trigger warning was a 5000 lb. Japanese Zero closing in with the intent on putting all of you and himself at the bottom of the sea. Not just any day, but any moment could be your last. A friend once said of the generation who served in WWII, “They literally went out and saved the world.” That they did, and truly earned the name “The Greatest Generation.”
To the brave young men and women who served and are serving now, God Bless You All. To those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, my gratitude has no words. I am thankful and honored to have been able to walk in your footsteps aboard the vessels on which you served. God Bless You All. God Bless America. God Bless The United States Armed Forces. And, God Bless The United States Navy. Anchors Aweigh, My Boys, Anchors Aweigh… –J.
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