Once again, another beautiful day to tour the Charleston area. The weather and temperatures have been breaking all records. We got a later start then planned arriving at Patriots Point at 11 am.
We purchased tickets for both the USS Yorktown and Fort Sumter tour but quickly realized after walking on board the Yorktown that we should have opted for just one tour instead of two. The USS Yorktown is enormous and the tours divided into six different sections.
A little about the USS Yorktown:
The USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy.
Under construction as BON HOMME RICHARD, this new Essex-class carrier was renamed YORKTOWN in honor of YORKTOWN (CV-5), sunk at the epic Battle of Midway (June 1942). Built in an amazing 16-½ months at Newport News, Virginia, YORKTOWN was commissioned on April 15, 1943, and participated significantly in the Pacific Offensive that began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. YORKTOWN received the Presidential Unit Citation, and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II. Much of the Academy Award-winning (1944) documentary "The Fighting Lady" was filmed on board YORKTOWN.
In the 1950's, Yorktown was modified with the addition of an angled deck to better operate jet aircraft in her role as an attack carrier (CVA). In 1958, YORKTOWN was designated an anti-submarine aircraft carrier (CVS), and would later earn 5 battle stars for service off Vietnam (1965-1968). The ship also recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule (December 1968). YORKTOWN was decommissioned in 1970 and placed in reserve; and in 1975, was towed from Bayonne, NJ to Charleston to become the centerpiece of Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum.
Our first tour was in the living and working areas of the carrier and it took us almost two hours to complete. The carrier is enormous and we were impressed with the complexity within its walls.
We had a 1:30 pm tour to catch so we had just enough time to tour the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum.
This national museum is also home to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the most unique, and perhaps the most exclusive, organization in the United States. Society members share the distinct honor of wearing our nation’s highest award for military valor.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum features interactive exhibits that explain the origin of the Medal of Honor and its distinctions. The exhibits tell the stories of brave Americans who displayed remarkable courage such as Audie Murphy, Sergeant Alvin York and Jimmy Doolittle. Even now, the Medal of Honor continues to touch the lives of Americans as the museum pays special tribute to the first Medal of Honor recipients from the War On Terror: exceptional Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first medal represents the Army, the second, Navy/Marines/Coast Guard and the third, Air Force.
It was a sobering experience reading the stories of some of the recipients and the sacrifices made by many to keep our country free. It exasperates me to think that we have so many young people today who do not exhibit an understanding as to why they have the freedom to choose. And yet, disrespect our country by refusing to honor our flag and what it stands for.
We then took our boat tour to Fort Sumter National Monument where the Civil War began.
Fort Sumter
April 12 - 14, 1861
Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
When South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, United States Maj. Robert Anderson and his force of 85 soldiers were positioned at Fort Moultrie near the mouth of Charleston Harbor. On December 26, fearing for the safety of his men, Anderson moved his command to Fort Sumter, an imposing fortification in the middle of the harbor. While politicians and military commanders wrote and screamed about the legality and appropriateness of this provocative move, Anderson’s position became perilous. Just after the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861, Anderson reported that he had only a six week supply of food left in the fort and Confederate patience for a foreign force in its territory was wearing thin.
On Thursday, April 11, 1861, Confederate Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard dispatched aides to Maj. Anderson to demand the fort’s surrender. Anderson refused. The next morning, at 4:30 a.m., Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter and continued for 34 hours. The Civil War had begun! Anderson did not return the fire for the first two hours. The fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for an equal fight and Anderson lacked fuses for his exploding shells--only solid shot could be used against the Rebel batteries. At about 7:00 A.M., Union Capt. Abner Doubleday, the fort's second in command, was afforded the honor of firing the first shot in defense of the fort.
The firing continued all day, although much less rapidly since the Union fired aimed to conserve ammunition. "The crashing of the shot, the bursting of the shells, the falling of the walls, and the roar of the flames, made a pandemonium of the fort," wrote Doubleday. The fort's large flag staff was struck and the colors fell to the ground and a brave lieutenant, Norman J. Hall, bravely exposed himself to enemy fire as he put the Stars and Stripes back up. That evening, the firing was sporadic with but an occasional round landing on or in Fort Sumter.
On Saturday, April 13, Anderson surrendered the fort. Incredibly, no soldiers were killed in battle. The generous terms of surrender, however, allowed Anderson to perform a 100-gun salute before he and his men evacuated the fort the next day. The salute began at 2:00 P.M. on April 14, but was cut short to 50 guns after an accidental explosion killed one of the gunners and mortally wounded another. Carrying their tattered banner, the men marched out of the fort and boarded a boat that ferried them to the Union ships outside the harbor. They were greeted as heroes on their return to the North.
We were given about 45 minutes to tour the fort after a very dynamic 20 minute introductory presentation by the park ranger.
Back at Patriots Point we resumed our tour of the USS Yorktown. Ron’s choice was to tour the ships fire and engine rooms in the bowels of the ship. Four stories down multiple ladder stairways we went. I could not imagine working in the engine room with the noise, heat and threat of being hit by a torpedo. I have nothing but admiration for the young men who put themselves in harms way for the good of our country. Looking at the pictures both Ron and I commented on how young they all were. Some looked like they were too young to shave.
Then it was on to the flight deck and bridge:
The Bridge with Captain Ron
The Brig that holds three people in a very tight space with no windows. Ugh!
Also on board was a sick bay, hospital, OR, X-ray, a full dental suite, barber shop, ice cream shop and candy store.
In the ships bakery there was a recipe for 10,000 chocolate chip cookies.
We ended our tour of the Yorktown with a movie presentation of the “The Fighting Lady” a one hour documentary on the battles that the USS Yorktown had encountered during WW II. It was a presentation that was especially touching because we were sitting in the ship that survived those battles. Although we had covered most of the ship there was still more to see but we had run out of time. We only skimmed the Charleston Naval Shipyard Museum, the Ship’s Memorials and Models and never did get to tour the Cold War Submarine Memorial, the submarine the USS Clamagore SS343, and the Vietnam Naval Support Base. It was definitely a two day experience and we will have to return to complete it.
We stopped for dinner at Berringer’s Barbecue and had a delicious meal arriving home at 7:30 pm. Jewel was there to greet us with greet glee. After a walk for her we settled in and were in bed by 9:30 pm. We were quite tired from a long great day, fresh air, and hundreds of stairs. No stair-stepper needed here.
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