As we approach the holiday season many in our nation and the world will be escaping with their friends or loved ones to the movies.  We escape into adventure, romance and other emotions of the human experience. The USS Yorktown has an extensive tie with the dreams of Hollywood and we now take a look at her association with the movies and television.

The first film associated with USS Yorktown is the 1944 Academy Award winning documentary The Fighting Lady narrated by Robert Taylor and directed by Edward Steichen with Charles Boyer, Joseph J. Clark,  and Dixie Kiefer.  There was evidently some trouble in getting the film released by the Navy censor at the time, but former commanding officer Jocko Clark was able to persuade the Navy captain to release the film and Hollywood was grateful. Here we see Jocko with Bob Hope on his trip to the west coast for the movie’s release…

Watch it here on YouTube…

1954 would be the year that 2 films would appear on the USS Yorktown. First was a  short documentary film produced by Otto Lang entitled Jet Carrier.  It was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Documentary Short and the other for Best Two-Reel Short.

The next movie made more of a splash and was entitled Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), but it was filmed aboard a sister Essex carrier, CV-34, USS Oriskany.
Stars were big names, Van Johnson and Walter Pidgeon. F9F Panther jets from US Navy squadron VF-192 were used and they were also used to film The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954). After the filming of these two movies, the squadron name was changed from “Golden Dragons” to “World Famous Golden Dragons”.

After Van Johnson brings in a blind pilot and lands safely on the carrier, he mutters “I should have found a home in the Army”.

Dick Van Dyke and Nancy Kwan star in Lt. Robin Crusoe (1966) about a Naval aviator who crashes and ends up on a deserted island that, of course, is not deserted. Van Dyke finds a chimp named Friday in this film.

Thought the ship was not used in the filming, USS Yorktown was host to the world premiere of this film. Van Dyke, Buddy Ebsen, Fred MacMurry, Eva Gabor and other stars attended.

Television came to the Yorktown in November 1968 when TV’s  Get  Smart series had an episode filmed onboard in San Diego. Here is a copy of the ship’s newpaper coverage of the filming.

During the filming in November 1968 of Tora Tora Tora (1970) warplanes painted with a Japanese insignia were lifted onto the USS Yorktown at San Diego and then transported to Hawaii for use in the film.

Government assistance on this film resulted in a 60 Minutes investigation. The Yorktown had her flight deck repainted as the Japanese flagship of Admiral Nagumo, Akagi. Below is the ship’s newspaper article on the filming…interestingly the ship carried Japanese painted aircraft as it a transited the Pacific to Pearl Harbor in December…Even with the movement of Hollywood into space with the Star Trek series the name USS Yorktown continues with NCC-1717 USS Yorktown which is mentioned in multiple Star Trek episodes…

Fitting that descendants of the Fighting Lady would go into…Space… the Final Frontier…  to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before…

One day recently as I was completing a program on the flight deck of Yorktown, I noticed a lady standing off to the side of the A-6 Intruder aircraft with her hands resting on the aircraft as if to hold it up. Tears streamed down her face, so I walked over and asked if she was okay. She looked over at me and said, “Yes, I’m fine…I came here to remember my brother.”

Grumman A-6 Intruder medium bomber

She told me her story of how her brother launched off of his aircraft carrier in the Tonkin Gulf on a strike against North Vietnam one day in 1970.  His squadron mates remember him being with them when they went “feet dry” (naval aviation term for overland), but no one ever saw what happened to him… no radio calls… no explosion… no fireballs… no prisoners of war… no bodies…her brother’s aircraft never returned to the aircraft carrier it had launched from. It was as if this Intruder crew, pilot and bombardier navigator (BN),  had disappeared from the face of the earth and flown into eternity.

The lady told me that she was thankful for a place like Patriots Point, where families could come to remember their loved ones. Her brother has no grave, but she comes to Patriots Point to place her hands on the Intruder. It is then that she remembers how he loved to fly and how he loved his family and loved his life and loved our country…

She told me that our nation needs places like Patriots Point, like the Vietnam Wall, where people can go and place their hands on something real, something tangible…like the aircraft and ships at Patriots Point that have carried those who have served our nation.  She believed that in the touching of the aircraft she touched the hand of her long lost brother…and that her loss was healed and her reconnection to her brother’s memory strengthened her for today and tomorrow’s trials and tribulations.

Some may think her a little odd,  but I wondered… perhaps she is right…

why not draw comfort and strength from our past to give us hope for today and tomorrow…

why not remember past lessons that help us live life today and tomorrow…

why not physically connect with the history that has made us a free people and amazing nation today and tomorrow…

why not remember the sacrifices of our patriots knowing that sacrifices will be needed today and tomorrow…

I was touched by her story and comments, and she smiled as she departed the flight deck…there seemed to be a glow around her…and so I raised my own hands to touch where hers had been on the aircraft… and as I remembered Mark Lange and my cousin, Kevin Hills, tears streamed down my face…

Patriots Point’s overnight stay program is very well known, our programs for elementary through high school are becoming better known, but two youth programs at Patriots Point are poorly known…even most of our staff don’t realize that these programs occur onboard the USS Yorktown.The programs are the Navy League’s Sea Cadet program and the Boy Scouts Sea Scout program. Both programs are co-educational offering opportunity and adventure for both boys and girls (ages 11-17).

The Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is for American youth ages 11-17 who have a desire to learn about the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine. Sea Cadets are authorized by the Secretary of the Navy to wear Navy uniforms appropriately marked with the Sea Cadet Corps insignia. The objectives of the Sea Cadet program are to introduce youth to naval life, to develop in them a sense of pride, patriotism, courage, and self-reliance, and to maintain an environment free of drugs and gangs.

The Hunley-Yorktown Sea Cadets drill onboard the USS Yorktown one Saturday per month, if you are interested you can visit their website here.

The Coastal Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America have a Sea Scout Ship at Patriots Point. It is Ship 510 and they routinely meet on the Yorktown. Sea Scouting is organized to promote better citizenship and to improve members’ boating skills and knowledge through instruction and practice in water safety, boating skills, outdoor, social, and service experiences, and knowledge of our maritime heritage.

You can find out more about Ship 510 at their web site here…

The Marine Corps today celebrates its two hundred and thirty fourth year of existence! Happy birthday and many more to an organization which has defended our freedom and woven a everlasting tapestry of amazing stories,  memorable battles and patriotism in action. Below are three of our Marine volunteers and one of our two former Marines on the staff at Patriots Point, which of them looks the most dangerous?

Marine Corp volunteers from left to right Jim Morrow (Tarawa), John Flinn (Vietnam), Dick Whittaker (Okinawa) and staff member/former Marine Ned Forney celebrate on the hangar deck of USS Yorktown.

Volunteer extraordinare Jack Bretherton

Our volunteer profile for November is on Jack Bretherton. Jack was born and raised in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. His parents signed papers for him his junior year in high school allowing him to join the United States Navy in 1943. After boot camp at Bainbridge, Maryland, he was sent to electrician mates school where he graduated with the rank of 3rd class Petty Officer. Jack didn’t realize that this distinction would keep him out of galley and laundry and other duties normally assigned to junior enlisted personnel.

Leaving school he received orders to the USS Janseen, DE-396, seen at right.

USS Janseen DE-396

Jack served for 14 months on her in the Atlantic theater. Janseen served in several hunter killer groups defending convoys in the Atlantic, attacking and sinking German U-boats.

In 1945 Jack was transferred to the USS Haven AH-12 seen below. Both of Jack’s ships received Presidential Unit Citations (PUCs) during the war and so he is one of very few Navy personnel to have campaign ribbons from Atlantic and Pacific theaters of action and two PUCs from his service.

USS Haven AH-12

After conclusion of hostilities, the Haven received orders to the Japanese port city of Nagasaki to process Japanese prisoners of war (POWs).While there Jack received a tour of the devastated city. He said the images of destruction were truly amazing.

Mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, 09 August 1945

Jack recieved his discharge from the Navy on 21 April 1946, which just happened to be his 21st birthday!

He returned to high school, but didn’t use his GI Bill until he entered the University of Virginia in 1948, graduating with a degree in Economics in 1951. Jack went to work for a large manufacturing company outside Philadelphia, where he eventually became their purchasing agent and manufacturing representative. Jack worked several other jobs and retired several times, before eventually moving south to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 1994/5.

He was recruited as a volunteer for Patriots Point in 1994/5 by Don Zieglar and has been a steady and faithful guide for thousands of our guests! Thank you Jack! Patriots Point salutes you!

From 07 November to 14 November there will be a plethora of events to celebrate and commemorate Veteran’s Day at Patriots Point, below is the schedule for Veteran’s Day week.

Saturday, November 7

Living History Groups onboard the ships at Patriots Point

Vintage Vehicles from the SC Military Vehicle Preservation Club on display, landside 9:00am until 4:00pm

VFW and Wando High ROTC will be in the pavilion area for “Buddy Poppies” 10:00am – 1:00pm

Sunday, November 8th

Vintage Military Vehicles from Patriots Point will participate in the Charleston Veteran’s Parade @ 2:00 pm, landside Dress Line Up @ 10:30am at Patriots Point

Tuesday, November 10th

Recognition of the US Marine Corp Anniversary

Wednesday, November 11th

“Welcome Veterans” – Converse with a Curator and Displays on WWI, Hangar Bay III 9:00am until 4:00pm

Submarine Vets Memorial Dedication Ceremony -the new WWII Submarine Veterans memorial will be dedicated at the Submarine Cold War Memorial site on Patriots Point by the United States Submarine Veterans Incorporated (USSVI) Charleston Base at 2:00pm.

Saturday, November 14th

Honor Events – Honor Welcome/Honor Landing/Honor Briefing, Hangar Bay I and Hangar Bay III on the Yorktown.

Invitation Only @ 11:00am

Public @ 12 noon

Patriots Point Living History Detachment & Military Vintage Vehicle Display – Converse with a Curator and Displays on WWI,
9:00am until 4:00pm, landside and shipside

Admission and Parking Information

Normal Admission and Parking Fees and Hours apply for all scheduled events Saturday, the 7th through Tuesday, the 10th.

Wednesday, the 11th

Veterans and one guest are admitted free of charge. All others, normal admission fees apply.  Normal Parking fees apply all day.  Guest should state they are a Veteran for free admission.

Saturday, the 14th “Honor Events”

EVERYONE receives free admission from 9am until 12noon. After 12 noon, normal admission fees apply.  Normal parking fees apply all day.

Invitation Only                Honor Welcome (Guest list or invitation) 11:00 – 11:45am

Open to the Public          Honor Landing Ceremony 12:00 – 12:30pm

Open to the Public          Honor Briefing (Meet and Greet with Invited WWII Vets) 12:30 – 1:30pm

The Laffey was visited by State Senator Glenn McConnell, Patriots Point Chairman John Hagerty, boardmember Susan Marlowe and executive director Dick Trammel this week. They observed progress on the restoration of Laffey’s hull integrity. See below of pictures from their visit…

Senator McConnell and PPDA Chairman Hagerty listen to Detyen's shipyard workers explain their work.

Executive director Dick Trammel inspects repairs on the bow of Laffey.

Senator McConnell closely inspects the work on Laffey's hull.

Work on the aft portions of Laffey shows much progress in restoring her hull integrity.

Cub scouts assembled on the aft end of the flight deck for flag program.

Over twenty Cub Scouts and their parents assembled on the aft flightdeck of Yorktown on 21 October to learn about the United States national flag, what the colors, stripes and stars stood for. They also learned to stand at attention and the proper presentation of the colors, how to raise and fold the flag, and how to serve as a color guard and master of ceremonies for presentation and retiring of the flag. It was a windy program, but the flag did not get away from the scouts. Pack 59’s tiger den led by Den Leader Bobby Cummings arranged for the trip and the cubs were able to complete several of their scouting requirements for advancement. Great job scouts!

Cubs under the national flag as the sun sets on historic Charleston.

A contingent of the United States Seagoing Marine Association boarded Yorktown for a reunion on Wednesday, 21 October. They are Marines who served on ships at sea.  In the picture below are six former Marines who served onboard the USS Yorktown pictured in the Marine Detachment spaces on the 2nd deck of Yorktown (CV-10), from right to left are: Richard “Dick” Wilson from Ohio (1956-57 service), Ron Dirkes from Oregon (1956-57), Ray DeGroot from Illinois (1956-57), Robert Sollon from Virginia (1965-67), Ed Zastrow from Alaska (1956-57) and George Bliss from California (1956-58).

Seagoing Marines who served proudly on the USS Yorktown, CV-10.

Dick Wilson told me one story of when they were in the Formosa Straits during the tense days of the standoff with the Red Chinese. The Seventh Fleet commander was Vice Admiral Wallace M. Beakley (seen below). One day the admiral asked his Marine orderly, “Corporal, how many Marines are on the Yorktown?” The corporal answered, “Ninety-two Marines, sir!” “How many sailors are on the Yorktown, corporal?” “Over 3000, sir!” “How do the Marines get along with that many sailors?” “Sir, the sailors have to get along with us!”

(From Life Magazine)

Thanks to our seagoing Marines for their service at sea, Semper Fi!

Fourteen former Yorktown crewmembers met with visiting guests and scouts this past Saturday, 03 October. The crewmembers included Ed Branning, Ben Couillard, Robert Dorsey, Les Hakes, Ed Hewitt, Dennis Hite, Bill Lahnen, Al Larivee, Art “Chico” Leach, Jesse Rodriguez, Wally Schuldt, Fred Springer, Harold Syfrett, and Daniel Vitt. They enjoyed a steady stream of guests and scouts from 10 AM until well after 2 PM, signing USS Yorktown posters and talking about their past adventures and service while onboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10). It was a wonderful experience for all and we look forward to the Yorktown Association’s reunion every first week in October.  Fair winds, following seas and see you next year shipmates!