Saturday August 29, 2015
Located outside of Charleston, in Mount Pleasant, is Patriots Point. Patriots Point was developed in the 1970's as a naval and maritime museum on Charleston Harbor.
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| bridge from Charleston to Mt. Pleasant. USS Yorktown in the background |
The USS Yorktown is the centerpiece of Patriots Point. It is also home to Patriots Point Museum, a fleet of National Historic Landmark ships, the Cold War Memorial, the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum and the only Vietnam Experience Exhibit in the U.S.
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| approaching the USS Yorktown |
The USS Yorktown (CV10) was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the U.S. Navy.
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| USS Yorktown |
Built in an amazing 16 1/2 months at Newport News, Virginia, Yorktown was commissioned on April 15,1943. World War II's famous "Fighting Lady" would participate significantly in the Pacific offensive. Yorktown received the Presidential Unit Citation and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II.
In the 1950's, Yorktown was modernized to operate jet aircraft as an attack carrier. In 1957 she was re-designated an anti-submarine aircraft carrier, and would later earn five battle stars for service off Vietnam (1965-68). The ship also recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule in December, 1968. Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and placed in reserve.
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| final approach to the ship |
The majority of our time here at Patriots Point was spent aboard the Yorktown.
The main floor houses the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum as well as a fleet of historic aircraft...
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| F9F Cougar |
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| Ron's turn in the cockpit |
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| guns from the carrier U.S.S. Franklin, WWII |
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| F6F "Hellcat" WWII U.S. Navy Carrier Fighter |
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| F4U Corsair WWII and Korean War U.S. Navy Carrier Fighter |
We then headed down the stairs...
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| the stairs were narrow & steep. we followed the yellow arrows... |
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| 16 inch shell with its powder charge |
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| more powder charges |
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| torpedo elevator & torpedo |
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| crews berthing. not very comfortable looking |
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| galley |
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| sick bay |
We then headed up the stairs to the flight deck. I was surprised how big
it was...
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| tailhook |
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| torpedo |
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| anti-aircraft gun |
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USS Clamagore (photo taken from flight deck of the York). commissioned in 1945.
served for 30 years during the Cold War. decommissioned in June 1975;
designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 |
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USS Laffey (photo taken from flight deck of the York). served in the Pacific Theater during WWII earning five battle stars.
decommissioned in 1975; designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 |
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| USS Laffey |
The Vietnam Experience...
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| sobering entrance to the experience (dog tags of those who served) |
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| close-up of dog tags |
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| Patrol Boat, River |
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| Huey Med-evac Chopper |
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| Mule |
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| loading ramp to Chinook |
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| jumpseats inside the Chinook |
It was a good day. A fun day. We're so glad we explored Patriots Point!
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