During September I was on vacation in South Carolina, and whenever I am near a naval museum I try to arrange a visit. My visits are usually something more than a causal pass through - typically an all day affair that involves conversation with the docents. This also requires a complex negotiation with my wife: a dinner or two; and a visit to garden, a show or a shopping mall. The Yorktown trip required two days at Brookgreen gardens.
The USS Yorktown is berthed at Patriot's Point. At the point there are several museums included and things to do besides the USS Yorktown, including: USS Clamagore; the Vietnam Support Base; and departure points for harbor cruises to Fort Sumter and Charleston. I was hoping that the USS Laffey had returned but no luck. The Laffey is a famous Destroyer, that was attacked by 22 kamikaze planes while on radar pickett duty off of Okinawa in 1945. The Laffey was in urgent need of repair and the Patriot's Point Association had to take urgent action, it went deeply in debt (see :ABC News - Patriots Point moving forward with payback plans). Unfortunately, this is a story that is going to repeated number times at several museum ships in the future.
Unlike the USS Slater, there were no guided tours on the Yorktown but plenty of exhibits with signage. I was actually very surprised are some of them which were somewhat rare but out of place: The SS Normandie and a 1.1 Anti-Aircraft Gun.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
09/21/2011 - Visit to USS Yorktown
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